Learning and
growing
WHEN YOU stop learning, you stop growing. It’s a saying that came to mind a few times recently,
after attending two learning experiences offered to members of the New Zealand wine industry.
First there was Grape Days, the annual transfer of information on the research paid for by
member levies and government funding. Three days in all, held throughout the country, each
event customised in some way to match the region where it was being held.
We all know research is ongoing, but how it impacts on what you do as a winemaker or a
grower can often be forgotten in the melee of everyday life. Grape Days changes that. It offers not
only a precis of the research, but also the findings so far. Take two of the big issues of the current
environment for growers – mealybug and trunk disease. Both subjects were covered and sciencebased advice provided to be put to use.
The other major information outlet was the Organic and Biodynamic Winegrowing Conference. A sell out weeks in advance, showed there is a thirst for knowledge from individuals all
over the country. Actually I should amend that. Not just all over the country, but internationally
as well. The line-up of speakers was impressive, but perhaps their comments on the event were
more telling about New Zealand than their praise of our wine. Speakers from the US, Chile and
Australia noted that the conference was unique in terms of its goals and achievements. “Please
bring this to America,” said Robin O’Brien – a guru on food that had some chilling facts to deliver
in both of her presentations.
Cynthea Semmens from Tasmania told me she was attending the conference to learn more
about organics, as Australia provided nothing in comparison. She even suggested that maybe we
could rename Tasmania as New Zealand’s West Island, she was so impressed by what is happening in this part of the world.
The ability to learn from such events is immeasurable and maybe it explains why New Zealand
wine has been so successful. We want to learn, we want to grow and we know both go together.

EDITOR
Published by Rural News Group Ltd
under authority of New Zealand
Winegrowers Inc. Unless directly
attributed, opinions expressed in
the magazine are not necessarily
those of Rural News Group and/or its
directors or management, New Zealand
Winegrowers Inc. or its constituent
organisations.

CONTRIBUTORS

Published every second month. One free
copy is mailed to every member of the
New Zealand Winegrowers Inc, the New
Zealand Society of Viticulture & Oenology
and the New Zealand Vine Improvement
Group, and to such other persons or
organisations as directed by the owners,
with provision for additional copies and
other recipients to be on a subscription
basis.

ISSN 1174-5223

Jean Grierson

Joelle Thomson

Lee Suckling

Jean Grierson talks to two
scientists, who after years
as lecturers are now the
owners of Maori Point
Wines in Central Otago.

Volcanic soils lead to
interesting wines, as Joelle
finds out after talking to
Canadian John Szabo MS.

Lee provides us with a list
of the 10 most interesting
wine apps that will go the
distance into the future.

Power, cooling
and heating
specialists for
wineries
With over 20 years’ experience working with
wineries throughout the Pacific region, Aggreko
is the world leader in rental power and temperature
control. We can help you make your vintage a
success by:
• Controlling fermentation
• Providing additional power when needed
• Providing temporary cooling for cellars or other
critical functions
We are on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week to
serve you.

Celebrating 200 years of
New Zealand Wine
IN HIS diary Reverend Samuel Marsden
records on September 25 1819 that he
planted some grapevines in the grounds
of the Stone Store, Kerikeri in the Bay of
Islands. These vines were the first planted
in New Zealand.
It is not known what variety(ies) were
planted nor the exact position in the
grounds of the Stone Store where the vines
were planted. However, the fact of the
planting is recorded for posterity in the
Marsden diaries – this makes New Zealand
one of very few countries in the world where
the exact date of the planting of the first
vines is known. In short another unique
New Zealand wine story.
The first recording in the historical
accounts of wine in New Zealand is
connected with James Busby. Busby, the
Crown’s Resident in New Zealand, lived
in what is now called the Treaty House at
the Treaty Grounds in Waitangi. Busby was
the architect of the Treaty of Waitangi and
is regarded as the first winemaker in New
Zealand.
There are some old gnarly grapevines still
growing directly behind the Treaty House.
The curators believe that those vines have

6 //

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

grown from cuttings taken from vines
originally planted by Busby at the Treaty
Grounds.
It is notable that the key figures, Marsden
and Busby, in the early history of the vines
in New Zealand were also significant
figures in early European settlement in
New Zealand, and in the relations between
Maori and the new settlers. As such there is

a strong linkage between the early history
of the vine in New Zealand and the early
history of European settlement.
Given this is a once in 200 year
opportunity, NZ Winegrowers is currently
organising the celebrations around this vine
bi-centenary. The celebration will feature a
ceremonial planting of a grape vine at the
Stonehouse at Kerikeri on the afternoon of
Wednesday 25 September and a celebratory
dinner on the Treaty Grounds at Waitangi
later that evening.
Members have already received invites
to the celebrations in the Bay of Islands, but
there is more to the bi-centenary than the
events in the North.
We encourage all of our members to be
part of the 200 year celebration by sharing
historic images and stories of their own
heritage.
We will be sending out a digital toolkit
that includes a 200 year anniversary logo
and sticker that wineries can use on their
marketing materials and wine bottles.
So get involved in the 200th anniversary
of Marsden’s planting of the first vines in
New Zealand and help make it a celebration
across the whole of our industry.

RIVERSUN'S
WAIHUKA SOURCE BLOCK
GISBORNE

WHERE THE
VINTAGE BEGINS…
It all starts with the healthiest grafting material harvested
from our “jewel in the crown” source block at Waihuka
- home to well over 200 varieties and clones from
some of the world’s best wine-making regions.

CONTACT US NOW TO ORDER YOUR SPECIFIC
REQUIREMENTS FOR 2020 PLANTING

www.riversun.co.nz

0800 113 747

News Brief

INT ERN ATI ON AL

NEW ZEALAND WINE TO BE SERVED
AT US TENNIS OPEN
KIM CRAWFORD Wines will the wine of choice at the US Tennis
Open from this year, after a multi-year agreement was signed
recently. Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc which is the number
one Savvy in the US, will #ServeUpKim to US Open fans with a
permanent brand presence on the grounds of the USTA Billie
Jean King National Tennis Center.
The US Open will start on August 26 and run through to
September 8. In 2018, a record number of 828,798 people
attended the Open, while millions more watched it on television.

ASVO HONOURS
DR TONY JORDAN
THE AUSTRALIAN Society of Viticulture and
Oenology (ASVO) recently made Dr Tony Jordan
OAM a Fellow of the Society. Dr Jordan has been
honoured for his particularly outstanding and
meritorious contribution to the Australian grape
and wine industry and to the ASVO. Dr Jordan
has also played a major role in the development of
the New Zealand wine industry.

DOMEST I C

TWO NZ WINERIES MAKE WORLD’S BEST VINEYARDS
THE IWC has just released
their list of the World’s
Best Vineyards, a list of
the 50 “most amazing
places to taste wine and
learn about winemaking.”
Two New Zealand vineyards

make the list, both in the
top 12.
Central Otago’s Rippon
Vineyard was placed at
number 8, and was also
listed as the Best Vineyard
in Australasia. “Jaw-

CHRIS YORKE OFF TO AUSTRIA
AFTER 15 years with New Zealand
Winegrowers, Chris Yorke, Global
Marketing Director is heading off
shore. Yorke will take up the position of
Managing Director of the Austrian Wine
Marketing Board, in January 2020. Yorke
was one of 90 applicants for the position
and Gerhard Wohlmuth, President
Supervisory Board AWMB, had this to
say when Yorke’s appointment was announced.
“We have brought on board a leading international wine
manager, who has for the past 15 years, as Marketing Director of
New Zealand Winegrowers, been instrumental in developing and
promoting New Zealand wines internationally.”

at number 11, with the
comments including; “luxury
accommodation and awardwinning restaurant.”
The number one position
on the list went to Zuccardi
Valle de Uco, in Argentina.

NZW MARKETING AND
EVENTS ROADSHOW

THIS STARTS in Northland on August 1, and continues
throughout the country until August 21. The focus
this year will be on Wine Tourism and Social Media,
as well as a summary of the International Visitor and
International Education Programmes, and the coming
targets and strategies for the 2019-2020 year. The
Global Events Team will also present their calendar of
export market events for the coming year, and discuss
how you can get involved as both an individual winery
and as a region.
Register at nzwine.com/members/events

OWNZ
acknowledge
stalwart
AT THE recent Organic and Biodynamic
Wine Conference, one of the founders was
acknowledged in front of those attending. Bart
Arnst was presented with the very first OGB
– which according to OWNZ Chair Jonathan
Hamlet stands for - Organic Good Bastard.
Arnst was the person who first suggested
OWNZ should hold a conference back in 2010.
“Bart has been instrumental in all the
conferences, specifically in terms of pulling the
content together,” Hamlet said. “And we have
reaped the rewards from that. So thank you for
your courage, to pioneer and innovate. Thank
you for sharing your knowledge and thank you
for all your energy in pulling these conference
programmes together.”

YOUNG WINEMAKER OF THE YEAR

PINOT 2021 REGIONAL
ROADSHOW
THE DATES are confirmed for the Pinot Noir NZ 2021 regional
roadshow for interested wineries, where organisers will share
their vision for the event in more detail in your region.
Central Otago – 21 August (3-5pm)
North Canterbury – 22 August (3-5pm)
Nelson/Marlborough – 23 August (3-5pm)
Hawke’s Bay – 30 August (9-11am)
Wairarapa – 30 August (3-5pm)
More details can be found at nzwine.com/members/events.For
any queries, contact rachael@pinotnz.co.nz

Marlborough Wine Show
Judging the best of New Zealand’s largest wine region,
the entries open on 12 August, and close on 6 September.
Three panels will judge the wines between 25 and 27
September. Trophies will be announced at a Long Lunch
25 October.
wine-marlborough.co.nz

Pinot Palooza 2019
7 September
Featuring the best Pinot producers from New Zealand and
Australia, all in one spot.
Shed 10, Auckland.
pinotpalooza.com.au/Auckland-2019

New Zealand International Wine Show 2019

200 Years New Zealand Wine - Anniversary Event

Entries for the largest wine show held in New Zealand,
are now open and close on September 20, Judging will
take place from September 30 – October 2. Awards
Dinner 25 October.

25 September
Celebrating the 200th anniversary of the first vines being
planted in New Zealand, Northland.

nziws.co.nz

nzwine.com

New Zealand Wine of the Year™ 2019
Marlborough Silver Secateurs
Sunday 25 August
The 2019 competition celebrating the skills of pruners,
will be held on Sunday 25th August at the Yealands Estate
Vineyard, Grovetown.
wine-marlborough.co.nz

October
Judging will take place in Auckland from 14-17 October.
Entries will open in August.
nzwine.com

Taste of Auckland

Taste of
31 Oct – 3 Nov
Auckland
Four days when food, drink and
entertainment are on show for everyone to enjoy.
tasteofauckland.co.nz

Bragato 2019
28-29 August
This year’s Bragato conference with the theme of, Challenge
-Think-Do, will be held in Hawke’s Bay, 28 Wednesday and
29 Thursday August 2019.
bragato.org.nz

Women in Wine National Event
27 August
Coinciding with the Bragato Conference, a Women in Wine
event will be held on 27 August, in Hawke’s Bay. More
details to come.
nzwine.com

10 //

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

New Zealand Wine Awards 2019
16 November
The biggest night of the New Zealand wine calendar will
take place in Blenheim, on Saturday 16 November.
nzwine.com

Global Events

NEW ZEALAND WINE EXPORT
EVENTS CALENDAR

GET IN TOUCH WITH THE
NEW ZEALAND WINE EVENTS
TEAM TODAY TO DISCUSS

The New Zealand Wine User Pays Events Programme for 2019-20 is now available.
All New Zealand wineries are entitled to participate in the programme, whether you are actively exporting/selling
or seeking distribution in our key target markets.
You will receive event-focused support and expertise from the New Zealand Wine events team with the aim of
helping to increase your market presence in Asia, Canada, UK/Ireland, Mainland Europe, USA or domestically.

fine corks, hand-selected by
Alberico Miranda for the Artisan Winemaker

www.awiclosures.co.nz

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019 // 11

Organic Conference

The natural growth
of organics
WORDS – TESSA NICHOLSON

Felton Road.

12 //

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

This is the third
Organic and
Biodynamic
Winegrowing
Conference I have
attended. And given
the success, it is
unlikely to be the last.
SINCE 2015, when the conference took on a professional
persona, there have been some
subtle and not so subtle changes.
Whereas originally people who
attended were very much into
the ethos of organics and or biodynamics, there were very few
attending who hadn’t taken a
step down either road. A tightly
held belief (by some) that going
organic or biodynamic was plain
hippyish, had to be overcome.
People had to be shown that
organics was a way of increasing quality, not the reverse. There

was genuine angst about how
to gain recognition for organic
wines and just how good organic
and biodynamic wine actually
is – for the planet and the consumer.
Now I am not saying that
those issues have all magically
disappeared. But in 2019, at this
year’s conference, the desperate
wish to get the message across
to the unconverted was replaced
by a steady confidence. There
was no need to preach, or hit
your head against a brick wall.
The message was not only out
there, it had been taken up by
hundreds of people who have
heard and what’s more implemented.
This year’s conference was a
sell-out, two weeks before the
opening day. Held in Blenheim,
there were people from all over
the country, and the world. It
became clear very early on from
some of the international speakers, that this conference was
unrivalled in places like Aus-

Jonathan Hamlet.

tralia and the US. The fact that it
attracted international speakers
from the US, Europe, Australia
and Chile is an indication of the
esteem it is held in. The fact the
conference managed to keep
those attending interested for

three whole days was impressive. And the information that
was shared was enlightening – at
times frightening – but always
enlightening.
Over the next few pages we
will break down some of the

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019 // 13

inspiring information that came
out of the conference.
Where are organics at in
New Zealand?
“We have just over 1700
hectares certified organic production in New Zealand at the
moment,” OWNZ Chair, Jonathan Hamlet says. “That is only
4.5 percent of our total vineyard
area. It has been pretty steady
for a number of years and it has
been higher in the past. Probably one of the biggest factors
is that the organic area hasn’t
kept up with the overall area of
viticulture that has been planted
out in the last five years.”
Given 550 hectares of new
vines came on stream in Marlborough alone in the 2019 vintage, a third of the total organic
plantings, it appears Hamlet is
correct.
He admits that historically organics has been led by
growers, rather than wineries, although now there are 72
wineries holding organic certification – or 10 percent of the
country’s total.
If one area is hitting way
above its weight, it is Central
Otago. The total percentage of
organic vineyards in that region
stands at 23 percent, way and
above any other region in the
country.
In terms of globally – New
Zealand’s 4.5 percent is around
average. There are over 300,000
hectares of organic grape production in the world – 4.7

“We have just over 1700 hectares
certified organic production in New
Zealand at the moment,” OWNZ Chair,
Jonathan Hamlet says. “That is only
4.5 percent of our total vineyard area.
It has been pretty steady for a number
of years and it has been higher in
the past. Probably one of the biggest
factors is that the organic area
hasn’t kept up with the overall area of
viticulture that has been planted out in
the last five years.”

percent of all production. The
vast majority of that is in the
EU, Spain, Italy and France in
particular.
So, while Organic Winegrowers New Zealand may not
have achieved their initial goal
of 20 percent organic by 2020,
Hamlet is not disheartened.
He believes the steady increase
in support, the fact a number
of recently planted vineyards
are considering converting to
organics in the near future,
while other organic growers are
increasing their current holdings, and the way the world is
clamouring for transparency
in all food and beverages, the
future is looking bright. By the
time the next conference rolls
around in 2021, what’s the bet
that 4.5 percent figure is mere
memory?

Control weeds
for up to eight
months.
Visit your local Farmlands store

FAR_09221

and ask about Chateau today!

0800 200 600
www.farmlands.co.nz

14 //

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

®

Forget the buts
With 1300 ha, Chile’s Emiliana Vineyard is the world’s largest organic and
biodynamic wine producer. Tessa Nicholson discovers that going organic
on a large scale means you have to get past all the reasons not to.

EMILI A NA ORGA N IC
Vineyards GM admits there
are plenty of reasons for not
going organic and biodynamic,
if you want to look for them.
But Christian Rodrieguez says
not too many of them have
foundation in this day and age.
The most commonly asked
question he faces is why would
a company that was successfully
growing conventionally, want
to go down the organic and
biodynamic track?
His answer – why not?

16 //

“When you have been doing
it for 20 years and are used to
it, you wonder why you would
be conventional today,” he says.
Emiliana began back in
1986 and through until 98 was
conventionally farmed. They
were building a growing export
market, particularly in the US,
and in total produced 1.7m
cases of wine.
“It was a very simple but
profitable business.”
But in 1998 the owners began
considering going organic,

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

after seeing how conventional
farming was affecting the
workers. The process began with
an experimental block – out of
the 10 vineyards, they chose the
very best 40-50 ha. In 2001 the
first certified organic fruit came
in and they decided to produce
a new wine – a blend of six
varieties – which was aged for
13 months prior to release. The
wine, Coyam, hit the market in
2003 and within six months had
won the best blended wine and
wine of the show, at the Chile

Wine Awards.
“Nobody was expecting that,”
Rodreiguez says.
It was the impetus needed to
start the transformation of the
entire 1300ha of vineyard.
It hasn’t always been easy,
he admits. “We dropped our
profit, for maybe seven or
eight years we didn’t make
money. We had to sell some
of our farms. And it was
complicated not only because
of the agriculture, but also the
mentality of the marketing

an d s a l e s d e p ar t m e nt .”
When the movie Sideways hit
theatres in 2004, it delivered
another blow. Rodriegurz
says up to 70 percent of their
1.3m cases sold to the US were

Merlot. Sideways put a huge
dent in that.
So organics took on an even
greater emphasis, creating a
point of difference from other
companies. These days Emiliana
exports to 60 countries and is
one of the largest wineries in
Chile. In the past nine years they
have seen an increase in volume
of 251 percent, and last year
produced 850,000 9l cases. They
are living proof Rodrieguez says
of how looking long term, not
short, is so important.
He says the BUT factor is the
biggest issue facing the growth
of organics world-wide.
He counters the reasons
many cite for not moving away
from conventional.
Productivity. “For us it is
working. The average price

Christian Rodrieguez, GM of
Emiliana Organic Vineyards.

PHOTO: Jessica Jones Photography.

works.”
Less efficient. “In the
short term yes it can be.
In the past nine years they
But in the long term,
things
like water use, soil
have seen an increase in
fertility, biodiversity, it
volume of 251 percent, and isn’t.”
It’s a niche product.
last year produced 850,000
“It was when we started.
9l cases. They are living
In Germany we were in
the supermarket – you
proof Rodrieguez says of
when you ask the
how looking long term, not know
directions to the toilet?
short, is so important.
That’s where the organic
products were. But not
now. Our main export
countries want more and
for Chile per case of 9l is $28. more organic products.”
Emiliana is now reaching $40.
More expensive. “It depends,
For our model it (organics) but we have found that quality

sells. Coyam is selling in the US
for $29, because it is quality.”
Only for rich people.
“Not any more. The demand
for organics is growing
and growing. As more land
becomes organic the products
will become cheaper, it will be
much cheaper to produce as
we will have more tools and
technology.”
Large scale is not sustainable.
“We are proof that is not the
case.”
“There are just too many
buts. So when people say why
have we gone organic and
biodynamic, I just say why
not?”
tessa.nicholson@me.com

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019 // 17

The cold, hard facts
TESSA NICHOLSON

One in 13 children in the US has food allergies.
One in 68 children in the US has autism.
One in 10 children in the US has asthma.
One in three children in the US has asthma, allergies, autism or ADHD.
Cancer is the leading cause of death by disease of children in the US.
THOSE ARE the cold hard facts,
presented by Robyn O’Brien at
the Organic and Biodynamic
Winegrowing Conference. Are
the allergies and other illnesses
due to the food children are
eating, or what has been done to
that food? That was the question
O’Brien sought to answer when
her own daughter developed
food allergies almost overnight.
The Vice President of rePlant
Capital and the author of The
Unhealthy Truth, a book about

the health of the American
food system, O’Brien has been
labelled by Bloomberg as “food’s
Erin Brockovich.” She has
helped lead a food awakening
among consumers, corporations
and political leaders. And she
has pesticides and genetically
engineered food squarely in her
sights.
“The first introduction of a
genetically engineered product
into the US food system was
an artificial growth hormone

called rdGH,” she said. “It was
inserted into our dairy cows
to make more milk. It made
a lot of sense economically,
hoping to bring down the cost
of milk for American families
and families around the world.”
The only problem was that
rdGH made the cows sick,
causing critical lameness,
increased mastitis and ovarian
cysts. To compensate for that,
the cows were fed antibiotics.
“Eighty percent of

ant ibiot ics us e d in t he
United States, is used on the
animals we eat.” O’Brien said.
It is not only milk that it filters
down into – it is cheese, ice
cream, yoghurt and other
products. That horrified
O’Brien, who has four children.
“I began thinking, how many
sippy cups did I put this milk in?
How many bowls of cereal have
I poured it on.
“I kept coming back to the
question; are we allergic to

food, or what has been done
to it? Because these allergies
to things like soy, wheat, dairy,
eggs, are starting to be married
to other allergens like beef and
chicken. People are starting
to ask, are we allergic to the
beef our grandmothers ate 80
years ago or are we allergic to

beef that is fed this genetically
engineered food and propped
up on a bunch of antibiotics?â&#x20AC;?
Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Brien went on to explain
that since genetically engineered
foods were introduced into the
US, sales of the weed killer
roundup â&#x20AC;&#x153;skyrocketed.â&#x20AC;? That is
despite the US Environmental

Protection Authority having
stated back in 1985 when
they were reviewing the key
ingredient Glyphosate, that
it was a â&#x20AC;&#x153;probable human
carcinogen.â&#x20AC;?
â&#x20AC;&#x153;In 1991, just before the
introduction of genetically
engineered crops that are

referred to as Roundup ready
crops, the US EPA reversed
its decision and said it is safe,â&#x20AC;?
Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Brien said.
The fact three legal cases of
13,000 against Monsanto have
already been through the court
system with all the plaintiffs
winning, is enough to show
that EPA decision reversal was
a catastrophic mistake.
But Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Brien wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t all doom
and gloom. She said she is not
fatalistic; â&#x20AC;&#x153;as a mother four I
cannot afford to be.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think it is going to be an
incredible moment in human
history when we look back on
this dark period in agriculture,
and we will be able to say we
designed a better system. That
we engineered our way out of
this, with enthusiasm, creativity,
innovation, passion and love.
Because for me that is the only
way forward, it is the only story
I want to be able to tell my
grandchildren.â&#x20AC;?
tessa.nicholson@me.com

A SPECIALIST WINE
TESTING LAB, RIGHT
WHERE YOU NEED IT.
WINE TESTING
Wine testing is important to us. In fact, so
important that we have a dedicated wine
testing laboratory right in the heart of
Marlborough, offering a suite of tests for
every stage in your wine production.
We specialise in wine export analysis and
have a number of other related analyses to
meet all major wine testing needs.
%

W H AT IS less than two
centimetres long, loves to work
during winter, has a hunger for
animal poo and could be handy
for grape growers? No, it’s not the
start of a bad joke, it’s a serious
question, one that was answered
at the Organic Winegrowing
Conference.
The answer by the way is
Bubas bison – a dung beetle
brought into New Zealand by
Dr Shaun Forgie, co-founder of
Dung Beetle Innovations.
Bubas bison is just one of
around 7000 dung beetles who
according to Forgie owe their
existence to “playing around in
excrement all around the world”.
Why is that important?
Because by playing around
in excrement, dung beetles
provide a bio control that
takes that dung deep into the
soil, providing all important
nutrients and breaking up the
soil by providing airspace.
There is a plethora of
scientific information that
backs up just how ecologically
important dung beetles are in
the agricultural sense. They
help with pasture productivity,
plant nitrogen, add protein
and develop microorganisms,
increase soil health and improve

20 //

water holding capacity among
many other things. There
are dung beetles on every
continent (with the exception
of Antarctica) all of them
going about their daily task,
never complaining about their
shitty job conditions. There are
three types of dung beetle, the
rollers, which roll balls of dung
many times their size away
from the manure pat. There are
dwellers, which live inside the
dung itself and finally tunnelers
which remove the dung from
the surface and carry it up to a
metre down into the soil.

By playing around in
excrement, dung beetles
provide a bio control that
takes that dung deep
into the soil, providing all
important nutrients and
breaking up the soil by
providing airspace.
It is the tunnelers that
Forgie has brought into New
Zealand, with the permission
of the Environment Protection
Authority, because New Zealand

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

simply does not
have any beetle
that could be put to
use on agricultural
pastures. The only
native dung beetles
are tiny, flightless
rollers that are
confined to native
forests, so no good
on pastural land.
The way the beetles work is
they are attracted to the smells
emanating from fresh manure
piles. They move in and then
start tunneling balls of the

This is
the Bubas
bison, the
dung beetle
Shaun Forgie
recommends
for vineyards.

manure down into the ground,
time and time again. They
lay an egg in each one of the
microscopic balls, which then
starts the life cycle again. (See
Figure 1).
“That whole process can be
about six to eight weeks,” Forgie
explained. “So with those fast
biomass dung beetles, you
can get multiple overlapping
generations all producing babies
and burying manure rapidly.
You get a hugely exponential
increase in beetle abundance
once you have put them in a

Figure 1

particular place.”
Given placing sheep in
vineyards is a unique New
Zealand occurrence, Forgie

believes there is the potential to
utilise dung beetles to make the
most of the poo. In particular
Bubas bison, which is around

18mm in length, is a flying
beetle and is active during the
same months that the sheep
are most commonly homed in

vineyards – March to October.
“It is a specialist at winter
time, when all the other beetles
we have are hibernating. This
one decides to start emerging
around March and goes through
until October. It is prolific at
burying anything from cow
manure to sheep poo. So if
you have got sheep running
around at that time of the year
then you may as well utilise that
nutrient resource in the form
of manure by shoving it into
the ground. It is another tool
to try and improve soil health,
sustainably.”
What’s more, Bubas bison
enjoys the soil types that vines
do, including clay and compact
silts.
As for the cost, Forgie says
they can provide dung beetles
at a cost of between $10 and $40
a hectare, depending on which
of the 11 beetles a customer
prefers.
For more info; dungbeetles.co.nz
tessa.nicholson@me.com

The complete irrigation
solution for your
vineyard
VINEYARDS
Manage water
with precision

Season after season, Rivulis works side-by-side with
growers and corporate plantations to provide the
right irrigation solutions.
Our range of products and services include:
Irrigation Design
Project Managment
Filtration
Drip Lines - including the world famous Hydro PC
Fittings & Accessories
Irrigation Recommendation Software

www.rivulis.com

+61 7 3881 4071

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019 // 21

From
New Zealand
to Canada
TESSA NICHOLSON
WE IN New Zealand can thank
our lucky stars that the pests
we have to deal with in our
vineyards are limited to birds,
rabbits and grass grubs. Spare a
thought for our counterparts in
Canada, who have to deal with
a myriad of other vine loving
creatures, such as bears, deer,
elk, cougars, eagles, Californian
Bighorn sheep and rattlesnakes.
That was the message New
Zealander Kurt Simcic gave
at the recent conference, after
taking up the position of Senior
Viticulturist for Sebastian
Farms, responsible for all the
fruit growing at the northern
end of the Okanagan region.
Besides the animals, Simcic is
learning to deal with conditions

22 //

that are as far away from New
Zealand’s maritime climate as
you could imagine.
Winter temperatures that
drop to minus 18 degrees,
summer sunlight of 16 hours a
day, intensely warm, desert like
conditions that begin as soon
as spring arrives and bud burst
followed by flowering, with both
often occurring in the same
month.
Sebastian Farms started
their organic conversion, the
moment Simcic stepped off
the plane back in May 2017.
Since then he has had a lot of
learning to undertake, when
it comes to growing grapes in
such a foreign environment, as
well as converting conventional

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

They may be beautiful, but deer
create havoc in the vineyard.

vineyards to organic under
a different system to New
Zealand.
Let’s start at the end of the
year – the month of December,
which is the winter harvest
period. Ice Wines are a
integral part of the Canadian
wine scene. For Simcic it was

a rude awakening, given the
fruit cannot be picked until
temperatures reach minus 8
deg and trending downwards.
“Ideally though, we don’t start
picking until we are around
minus 10. We want to make
sure the fruit is frozen enough
to get the right sugar level. But if

the fruit gets too cold or frozen
too solidly, it gets extremely
hard for the winemakers
to deal with in the press.”

That window of opportunity
occurred in 2018 on December
23. If you think its hard to
get pickers in New Zealand,
imagine luring them into the
vineyards when it is minus 10,
and there are only two days to
go until Christmas. He says not
all the fruit could be brought
in prior to Christmas, so it was
back into the vines on Boxing
Day.
“We had 20 tonnes of semi
frozen fruit to harvest, but
that 20 tonne of fruit equates
to approximately $1m dollars
worth of wine to the company.”
Once the fruit is in, the job
of pruning can begin, although
the crews cannot wrap and tie
down in the winter months, due
to the brittleness of the canes.
By the time the months
move on to April, the weather
is starting to pick up and the
wrapping and tying down of
canes can be undertaken in
earnest.
“All of the winter chores need

to be completed by May because
this is when bud burst begins.”
With a team of Mexicans,
many who have made the
journey north for 10 years, the
hard work begins.
“Spring always comes with a
bang,” Simcic said. “All the snow

blocks. We shoot thin all of
our vines and we only have
about four weeks to do it.”
The very small spring window
also impacts on cover crops
becoming established.
“Nothing will grow in winter
and it gets so dry so early in
spring that if the seed
hasn’t properly struck,
“We had 20 tonnes of it will likely fail for that
year.”
semi frozen fruit to
Spring and summer
harvest, but that 20
provide very reliable
tonne of fruit equates growing conditions, so
Simcic says he has to
to approximately $1m find ways of upsetting
flowering to ensure
dollars worth of wine
bunch sizes don’t go
to the company.”
through the roof.
“Because I am not
melts, which means there is keen on 200 gm bunches of
loads of moisture in the ground. Pinot Noir. Some of our sites are
Couple that with dramatically pretty low in key nutrients and
rising temperatures, up to 30 I am trying to override instinct
degrees at times, it leads to and embrace that a bit in an
bud burst followed by very effort to disrupt the flowering
rapid shoot growth. There is process.”
a real sense of urgency in the
He also removes leaves and

all laterals, which he said has
helped. As has starving the vines
of a little water and trying to
place them under a bit of stress,
if conditions allow.
O nt o s u m m e r, w h e n
conditions begin to resemble a
desert, it is all about canopies.
“While we do want light and
airflow, we also need to protect
our fruit from the light intensity
and the extended hours of
sunshine. The sun is up for 16
hours a day at its peak and we
tend to see a bit of sunburn
damage in our Pinot every year.
We cut it out at veraison.”
The temperatures and the
extended sunshine hours mean
the window for spraying sulphur
is small, especially given the
hottest part of the day tends to
be from 4pm onwards.
Combine the hot and dry
conditions together and the
environment is perfect for
wildfires, 2000 of them in BC,
Canada, last summer alone. The
haze created by the fires creates

24 //

perfect conditions for powdery
mildew.
“I have noticed if growers
have a relaxed spray schedule
they will generally be stung with
this problem.”
Harvest tends to begin
in September and continue
through into October. Weather
conditions are generally dry
which he said allows them to
hang the fruit out for longer and
wait for the flavours to develop
to where they want them.
So while there are massive
differences between Okanagan
and New Zealand in growing
conditions, Simcic said it is the
wildlife present in the vineyard
that stuns him the most.
Despite deer fences around
the properties and stock gates,
some interesting visitors always
manage to make their way
in. Bears apparently love the
ripening fruit – to say nothing of
the beehives that Simcic planted
among the vines. “I did not
consider the bear factor when

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

Two bear chased up a tree
by the vineyard dogs. Slightly
more problematic than a
flock of starlings.

I first got the hives. They thrived
until the bears discovered them
the following spring, then they
had themselves a little picnic
and caused a lot of damage.”
Bears apparently love to dig
under the protective fences,
and he says they are partial to
the ripe fruit around harvest
time.
“They are a little more tricky
to scare away than the starling
flocks here in New Zealand.”
Then there are the moose,
cougars, bobcats, elk, bald
headed eagles and many other
raptors. Which means his goal
of having chickens roaming
among the vines, removing
pesky insects, is not an option.
“Because your properties would
quickly become a fast food
joint.”
But deer are the biggest issue.
They can cause thousands of
dollars worth of damage to the
fruit and the vines. To try and
prevent the damage, bird netting
was used to protect the fruit –

Ice wine is a valuable
asset to the winery, but
can’t be picked until the
temperatures reach minus
8C and are trending down.

from the deer, not the birds. The
eagles and raptors do a good job
of keeping flocks of other birds
at bay.
In terms of other organic
practices, Simcic says the
transition has been going well
and the first certified fruit was
harvested last year.
“It’s a pretty dry climate,
with approximately 350mm of
rain per annum. The warm dry

conditions help, with our under
vine management and disease
pressure being low. Powdery
mildew is our biggest concern,
but with a good protective
spray programme, the organic
blocks are looking the best in
the valley.”
In terms of percentages,
four percent of the Okanagan
is organic, but when Sebastian
Farms finishes its organic

conversion, that figure will rise
to 17 percent.
“My hope is we will inspire
others to follow that path.”
Kurt Simcic works for the
farming arm of Sebastian Farms,
growing tiered fruit organically
for three separate wineries. He
was previously the viticulturist
at Marlborough’s Cloudy Bay.
tessa.nicholson@me.com

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019 // 25

PHOTOS: Jessica Jones Photography.
26 //

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

Grow grapes

Prepare to say goodbye to weeds
for the whole growing season with
Chateau® residual herbicide.
• Active ingredient 500g/kg flumioxazin
• Controls weeds for 4 to 8 months
• Pre-packed in water soluble bags
– no weighing or handling required
• Extensively trialled throughout NZ
• When used as directed no residues
occur in fruit or vine foliage

For more information talk to your Nufarm
Territory Manager or visit us at nufarm.co.nz

HUMANS ARE supposed to
be the most intelligent species
on the planet. How then do you
explain that the average human
attention span is only eight
seconds? How do you reconcile
that figure with the scientifically
suggested attention span of a
goldfish being – nine seconds?
Maybe it’s because goldfish
don’t have smart phones. That
was the suggestion made by
Marketing and Communications
Consultant Joanna Glover.
“The rising popularity of
smart phones, mobile data,
messaging apps and social
media is thought to be behind
the falling attention rate.”
With so much information
available 24/7, it is hard for
any of us to focus on any
one subject. (See graph for
what happens in an internet
minute.)
For wine producers, whether
they be organic or not, the big
question is how do you capture
the attention of your consumer
in a way that benefits you both?
Glover says there is no magic
bullet, breaking through to
consumers takes time and effort.
“It’s a marathon and not a sprint.
It won’t happen overnight and
it can’t be done cheaply, easily
or quickly.”
Hopefully you are still with
me on this page, and haven’t
drifted off to goldfish land,
because Glover offered some
salient points on how to break
through.
Storytelling – she believes
is the key to standing out. But
there is a distinction. You can’t

28 //

tell a story by hard selling.
“It’s never pushy, through
consistent small stories you
can build brand recognition
and add depth and humanity
to your brands. When we share
our stories and the stories of our
people, we build connection.
Connection, alongside
transparency builds authenticity
and trust.”
Focusing on millennials,
Glover said there are some
hard facts producers need to
be aware of.
• Five out of six millennials
connect with business through
social networks

“Remember that
you need to earn
attention, to do that
creating value for your
consumer needs to be
top of mind.”

• The average millennial
touches his or her phone 45
times a day.
• 62 percent of millennials
want brands to be authentic and
to interact with them.
• 88 percent of millennials
have a Facebook account
and over half of them use the
platform regularly.
• Instagram is the second
most popular social media
platform.

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

PHOTOS: Jessica Jones Photography.

• Snapchat is the
third.
If you are not using
these three platforms,
then you are not
hitting the millennial
market.
Glover said before
you even begin to tell
your story, plan, set
goals and define measurable
objectives.
“R e m e mb e r t h at you
need to earn attention, to do
that creating value for your
consumer needs to be top of
mind.”
So here are her suggestions
that could help you break
through the clutter and grab
the attention of your consumers.
Focus on what’s important
to your customer. To do

this, you obviously need an
understanding of who your
customer is.
Be entertaining, mix up your
content. Try images, video,
Q&A, polls and events.
Be authentic. Be yourself, use
your brand voice.
Help customers. Think about
the questions your customer
may be asking and answer them.
Use storytelling as a way
to differentiate yourself from
your competitors. What is your
point of difference? “There are
thousands of family owned
wineries that have beautiful
vineyards, making premium
wine,” Glover said. “What
makes you unique? Often it is
the people behind a brand that
can bring to light its personality
and build connection.”

Taking the
lid off
innovation.

Invest in strong imagery.
This alongside video where
possible, is essential to build a
strong brand online.
Taking the time and putting
the effort in may just pay off

with the consumer staying
with your page, connecting
with your brand, rather than
scrolling off to something else.
tessa.nicholson@me.com

THE 2019 New Zealand vintage
was the third in a row that the
industry produced less than the
forecasted sales for the next 12
months. Which means stocks to
draw on are getting lower, and
the supply/demand balance is
under tension.
NZW CEO Philip Gregan
says the final tally of 413,000
tonnes was way below the previntage survey expectations of
450 – 455,000 tonnes.
This follows smaller than
expected vintages in both 2018
and 2017.
“Over the last two vintages
we have sold more wine than
the industry produced out of

“Over the last two vintages we have
sold more wine than the industry
produced out of the previous vintage.
So there was already some tension in
the supply demand balance going into
this vintage.”
the previous vintage. So there
was already some tension in the
supply demand balance going
into this vintage.”
The vintage yield itself
was only down one percent
compared with last year, but
that is despite an increase of
two percent in vineyard area.

The big player in that
decrease can be attributed to
a much lower Pinot Noir yield
in Marlborough, Gregan says.
Across the country, Pinot yields
were down 20 percent, the
majority of that due to weather
conditions during flowering in
Marlborough and spring frosts

in Wellington Wine Country.
Northland and Auckland
growers had a phenomenal year,
with yield increases of between
100 and 180 percent. Gisborne
saw increases of 25 percent,
but Hawke’s Bay, Wellington
Wine Country, Marlborough,
Canterbury and Waitaki saw
drops in yield of between two
and 76 percent.
Good things come in small
packages apparently, and
that is the good news of vintage
19. The quality of the fruit was
high and wineries are expecting
some positive reviews of the
wines to come out of this year.

Your choice for sustainable farming
and superior yields!

Waikaitu manufactures biostimulants and fertilisers that improve growth and
health of plants and soil
Get in touch today : 03-970-0302 | info@waikaitu.com |www.waikaitu.com

FOR THE third year in a row,
the profit before tax of the MPI/
NZW Viticulture Benchmarking
Marlborough model has shown
a marked decrease.
The information which is
based on data from 50 growers
in the region, in a model of 30
producing hectares, shows
profit before tax of $8,700 per
hectare, which is 13 percent
down on last year.
In 2018 the profit before
tax was $10,000 per hectare.
In 2017 it was $11,600 and in
2016 it was $14,820.
Greg Dryden from Fruition

s ays t hos e ye ar-on-ye ar
decreases are “a worrying
trend,” at the vineyard level.
What’s most worrying is that
the decrease is in spite of
average yields and price paid
for fruit being relatively stable
between 2018 and 2019.
The only explanation for
the continual decreases is
vineyard expenses, which in
2019 reached $12,235 a hectare.
“That is up 31 percent over
the past 10 years,” Dryden says.
“Compared with yields being
up just four percent, and prices
up 10 percent since 2009.”

Labour makes up around
55 percent of all vineyard
expenses, equating to $6,760
per hectare.
Increases in the minimal
wage that took effect in April
2018 is one reason for the
labour cost hike. The second
increase came into effect in
April this year, and currently
sits at $17.70. By 2021 the
government aims to raise the
adult minimum wage to $20
an hour.
Dryden expects those future
increases will have a similar
impact to vineyard expenses,

as those seen in the past 12
months.
Other vineyard expenses
to show increases related to
pest and disease management
– mainly as growers battled
against mealybug, controlling
powdery mildew and dealing
with trunk disease. There were
also extra irrigation costs this
season, with some growers
having to pay for water to be
trucked in, once the Wairau
River irrigation takes were shut
off in February.
The Marlborough model
is heavily weighted with

WE ARE ALL ABOUT CULTURE

VITICULTURE
Colliers International is an industry leading brand in
the viticulture sector.
When uncorking the potential of your viticulture
assets depends on accurate, insightful knowledge and
sales experience – talk to one of our cultural experts.

Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc yields and
prices were similar this year to last, yet
profit before tax is down 13 percent.

Sauvignon Blanc just as the
region is, with the variety
making up 78 percent of the
30 hectare representation.
The rest of the model
is made up of Pinot Noir,
Chardonnay and Pinot Gris.
The overall average of all
varieties showed a revenue per
hectare of $24,350.
Sauvignon Blanc on its
own, showed a revenue return
of $26,000, with the average
price per tonne being $1,855.
Yields for Sauvignon were 14
tonnes per hectare, the same
as 2018. However, the quality
parameters appear to have been

higher this year. Dryden says
no grower suffered a penalty
from their winery for low brix
or disease this year. Seven
from last year’s 47 growers
suffered penalties, mainly due
to disease.
In 2018, 350 tonnes or 1.8
percent of Sauvignon Blanc was
left unharvested. In 2019, no
one had fruit unharvested.
Last year 1.3 percent of the
model’s Sauvignon Blanc was
on-sold due to surpassing the
winery yield cap, at an average
price of $990 a tonne.
This year only two of the 50
growers surpassed their yield

cap, which meant 115 tonnes of
Sauvignon Blanc or 0.6 percent
was on-sold at an average price
of $1200 a tonne.
Weather again played a role
in vintage, but not in the way
it has in the past two seasons.
While rain and tropical
cyclones hit Marlborough in
previous years, 2019 will be
remembered for its big dry.
Cooler weather and rain during
December however affected
early varieties like Chardonnay
and Pinot Noir, with yields
much lower than hoped for.
The decrease in profit may
now be impacting on vineyard

sales in Marlborough. There
has been a noticeable decline
in sales in recent months,
compared with the rush of
buying two years ago. Dryden
says the average model price of
planted land in the Wairau now
sits at $248,000 per hectare.
In the Awatere that price is
$165,000.
Looking forward, growers
are cautiously optimistic about
vintage 2020, forecasting a six
percent increase in yields. They
are also hoping for an increase
in grape prices in 2020, to
cover the increasing working
expenses.
North
Island

Northland
Auckland
Waikato

Nelson

Gisborne
Hawke's
Bay
Wairarapa
Marlborough

South
Island

Horticentre, TasmanCrop, HortFertplus
Driving Crop Performance

Bay of Plenty

Canterbury
Central
Otago

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019 // 33

Research Update

Pinot Noir Programme
WITH FUNDING of $10.3
million, the five-year Pinot Noir
research programme is already
breaking ground in terms of
knowledge of this fickle grape
and capricious wine.
Into its second year, the
programme is led by the
Bragato Research Institute,
with Plant & Food Research,
L i nc ol n Universit y and
the University of Auckland,
and is co-funded by NZ
Winegrowers and the Ministry
of Business, Innovation and
E mpl oy me nt ( M BI E )
through its Endeavour
Programme.
“A lot of what we are
The aim is to determine
trying to accomplish
if there is any truth in
the assumption that high is brand new, so no
yielding Pinot vineyards one else in the world
do not produce high quality
wines, says Matias Kinzurik, has done this.”
BRI’s Research Manager.
“This is what we call the the viticultural and winemaking
production/quality seesaw and factors that might contribute to
we are trying to understand if that definition of quality.
there is any truth to this claim.
Third, what are the perceived
And if so, how can we break this sensory aspects of quality and
seesaw.”
what is the chemistry behind
The programme has four those quality attributes.
main impact areas.
Fourthly, the programme
Number one is about wants to integrate all that
defining what quality Pinot Noir work in an impact statement,
wine is, both to a wine expert called Validation Wines, which
and a consumers.
will bring all the knowledge
Number two is studying all together, to recreate wines in a

controlled way and then testing
to determine if the wines are
moving towards or further
away from those definitions of
quality.
Kinzurik says a lot of the
information the programme
is working towards is ground
breaking.
“A lot of what we are trying
to accomplish is brand new, so
no one else in the world has
done this.”
Preliminary data is now
being analysed from the past
18 months of work and while

that won’t be released for a few
months, Kinzurik says early
results are proving interesting.
“What we are seeing is that
there is distinct chemistry lining
up to quality perception. And
there is distinct chemistry lining
up to yield. The most interesting
thing is that those two sets of
chemistry do not necessarily
match. That is great news for our
programme, because it means
there is at least some distinction
between what quality and yield
do.”
tessa.nicholson@me.com

FELCO 811
Powerful Light Rapid

HEINIGER NEW ZEALAND
Exclusive distributor and authorised service centre
for FELCO in New Zealand
Contact us to find a FELCO dealer near you
(03) 349 8282 | heiniger.co.nz

the vineyard and it was becoming really difficult...
that was until Vinea came along
MARK NAISMITH
A K A R U A V I N E YA R D M A N A G E R

Pinot Programme

Ground breaking research
TESSA NICHOLSON

ONE ASPECT of the Pinot
Noir Programme is taking a
reductionist approach to conduct
research on individual berries
and is set to make scientific
history. It involves growing
Pinot berries in petri dishes
under sterile lab conditions
for months at a time, to
determine exactly what inputs
they require to deliver quality
characteristics needed for Pinot
Noir production.
Dr Richard Espley, a Science
Team Leader at Plant and Food
Research is overseeing the berry
culture programme. He says to
understand what makes a berry
gain quality characteristics, it is
important to know how inputs
and environmental influences
contribute.
“You can do that in the
vineyard, but it is complicated.
You’ve got a bunch of berries
that all ripen at slightly different

times. In the vineyard, the
berries have to cope with
dif ferent env ironment a l
conditions, disease load, heat,
light, and all of those things can
have a major effect that you can’t
really control.”
Hence the research on individual berries, which removes
all of those differing parameters.
It may seem like a simple
scientific experiment, but
it is anything but. Only one
other university in the world
is doing a similar experiment
– Bordeaux University. But in
their case they are working on
Cabernet Sauvignon – a more
resilient grape.
“I love Pinot Noir,” Espley
says, “but it is a fickle berry.
It is small, it’s delicate and
it’s unpredictable. When we
told (Bordeaux University
researchers) we were going
to do it on Pinot Noir,

they just shrugged their
shoulders and said good luck.”
Despite their skepticism, the
research has proved successful
here in New Zealand. Espley
says they have grown Pinot
vines, allowing them to flower,
and then removed the small
berries, retaining part of the
stalk. The berries were sterilized
and placed on culture media in
a dish, with the stalk implanted
in the media allowing the berry
to continue to absorb nutrients.
“Berries will continue to
grow and develop, which is
great, so we have these little
baby Pinot Noir berries growing
in a very sterile condition.
Which means we control of all
the other complicating factors
that we can’t deal with when
we are looking at experimental
conditions in the field?.”
The media can be made with
a variety of nutrients that the

berry can absorb.
“For example, the simplest
thing to do would be to change
the amount of sugar in the
media. The amount of sugar a
berry has will affect some of its
ripening characteristics. For
example, it will create more
colour (anthocyanin), a quality
characteristic, among others, we
are looking for in a good Pinot.”
That has been the starting point
this year he says, and the system
has proved it is workable.
“We kept the berries alive for
a bit more than three months.
They do start to go through
veraison, they start to change
colour. I wouldn’t say they
look quite as robust as the best
Pinot Noir in the vineyard, as
they are a bit smaller and don’t
colour as intensely. So what we
are going to try and do next
season is understand exactly
what is going on with this life

The individual Pinot Noir berries, in their sterilized new home. Both black and clear media have been used in the research.

36 //

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

they are going through during
in vitro culture. We are the only
institute that has been able to
keep Pinot Noir berries alive for
this length of time.”
Espley says one of the next
steps is to deliver certain
stimulants like plant hormones
at a particular time and see how
that affects the berry and its
development, and eventually
its characteristics.
“What we do with these little
berries is keep them as individual biological samples and then
we will analyse those for the key
parameters the winemakers
want to see in the berries.”
The ground breaking
research which is being
undertaken at Plant & Food
Research in Lincoln has got all
the researchers involved in the
Pinot Noir programme excited,
as it offers the potential to
understand what makes quality
Pinot Noir that more attainable.

Pinot Noir cuttings are
grown until flowering,
with the ensuing baby
berries removed before
being placed on a media
in a petri dish.

tessa.nicholson@me.com

GROWING THE FUTURE OF THE
NEW ZEALAND WINE INDUSTRY
Who will be the Bayer Young Viticulturist of the Year 2019?
AUCKLAND/NORTHERN
Jake Dromgool, The Landing

HAWKE’S BAY
Nick Putt, Villa Maria

WAIRARAPA
George Bunnett, Craggy Range

CENTRAL OTAGO
Simon Gourley, Domaine Thomson

MARLBOROUGH
Ben Richards, Indevin

NORTH CANTERBURY
Zoe Marychurch, Pegasus Bay

A huge thank you to all our sponsors for making this
competition possible

NATIONAL FINAL
Winner receives: Hyundai Kona for a year, $5000 Ecotrellis Travel Grant, $2000 cash, Leadership Week
and support to Young Hort. Winner will be announced at the Bragato dinner on 29 th August 2019.

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019 // 37

Grape Days

The insidiousness
of trunk disease
TESSA NICHOLSON

IGNORE TRUNK disease at
your peril, is the message that
came from Mark Sosnowski at
the recent NZW Grape Days.
With the stats to back his
assertion up, he highlighted how
quickly a few diseased vines can
turn into economic disaster if
nothing is done.
Sosnowski, from South
Australian Research and
Development Institute (SARDI)
is one of three who have been
monitoring the prevalence of
Eutypa and Botryosphaeria in
vineyard blocks in both Hawke’s
Bay and Marlborough over the
past five years.
Ad.pdf
1
In 2013Winegrower
700 individual
blocks

“It is really important to stress that if
you are relying on foliar symptoms to
monitor for disease, you are going to
be missing a lot of your infected vines.”
were surveyed, throughout the
two regions. In total the blocks
had 21 varieties, with Sauvignon
Blanc, Merlot and Pinot Noir
the dominant ones.
In each block 200 vines
were randomly selected, and
assessed for foliar symptoms
and/or signs of dieback. Of
the 140,000 vines surveyed, 8
23/07/19
10:32 AM signs of either
percent showed

Eutypa or Botryosphaeria.
In 2018 the survey was
repeated, although this time
there were just over 600 blocks
involved. Sosnowski says they
also recorded any missing and
dead vines last year, to add to
the information.
Frighteningly in just five
years, the incidence of dieback
had more than doubled, from 8

Prefabricated Pods For Sale or Rent | eco

to 20 percent.
In 2013 eight blocks had
more than 60 percent incidence
of dieback, that increased to 31
blocks in 2018, despite there
being fewer blocks within the
survey. The majority of those
31 blocks were in Hawke’s Bay.
“The dieback symptoms start
to appear pretty early in the life
of the vines. In some cases we
saw four or five-year-old vines
with missing spurs already.”
Given it can take three years
from infection until symptoms,
that means the vines had to be
infected within a year or so of
planting.
The older the vines, the

Popular models include the Extended M-Pod which is 2.8m x 7.2m, complete with a bedroom, kitchen
and bathroom, full insulation and double glazing and its own trailer for $60,000+gst. We also make
a 65m² dwelling by joining two L-Pods (each 3.5m x 9m) for $150,000+gst.

The Silvan Centrifugal Remote Air Module (SCRAM), combines the unparalleled coverage and water
savings of Silvan’s Turbomiser technology, with the efficiency gains and safety advantages of a cutting
edge hydraulic drive system, to deliver the next generation in ultra-efficient crop protection.
• Turbomiser spray technology produces a narrow droplet spectrum for excellent coverage
• Fans draw air from above the canopy to ensure no ‘sandblasting’ of fruit & eliminate leaf blockages
• Hydraulic motors are isolated from the air stream to eliminate oil contamination
• High speed fans are engineered for even air distribution and low noise

showed more symptoms in
10-20 year old vines than cane
pruned vines. But then they
found that older cane pruned
vines were actually dying a lot
quicker than cordon pruned.
“The take home message is
that both methods of pruning
are susceptible to infection and

Cordon pruned vines
shows symptons earlier
than cane pruned.

more prevalent the disease. By
10 years of age, Sosnowski says
“things were ramping up. Then
the period between 10 and 20
years, we are seeing infections
going from 20 to 80 percent in
some vineyards.”
One of the interesting results
from the survey was the low
incidence of foliar symptoms
ass o c i ate d w it h Eut y p a
(see box). That may indicate
that Botryosphaeria is the
more dominant disease here
in New Zealand and more
research is currently being
conducted to determine if that
is the case.
“It is really important to
stress that if you are relying on
foliar symptoms to monitor
for disease, you are going to be
missing a lot of your infected
vines.”
The dieback incidence
varied across the age range of
vines, although the older the
vine became, the higher the
incidence. There was also a
noted difference in incidence
between spur pruned vines and
cane pruned, with the former
having a 34 percent dieback
incidence compared with 17
percent for cane pruned.
“The main reason for the
difference is the location of
wounds, which on cane-pruned
vines is close to the trunk,
compared with cordon pruned,

40 //

where there are a lot of wounds
all along one arm. When they
get infected, visually we see that
infection a lot earlier than in a
cane pruned vine. You are still
getting the infection at the same
time, but it is quietly moving
down into the trunk and slowly
attacking the trunk in a way we
can’t see.”
It doesn’t mean cane pruned

Trunk staining
- classic trunk
disease sympton.

vines are less likely to die from
the disease. A French study
showed cordon pruned vines

EUTYPA VERSUS
BOTRYOSPHAERIA
FOLIAR SYMPTOMS that include stunted yellowing shoots, cup margins and irregular fruit growth
are related to the Eutypa Lata fungus. The toxins are
produced by the fungus within the vine’s trunk and then
carried up the foliage to cause the visual symptoms on
green tissue. However, the fungus itself is not actually
found in the green tissue.
In terms of Botryosphaeria dieback, you don’t have
foliar symptoms, although the fungus can infect green
shoots. The major signs of this disease are dieback on
spurs or whole arms on cane pruned vines and cankers
that start coming down the trunk from pruning wounds.
Both diseases kill the vine eventually.
The cycle begins with the Eutypa or Botryosphaeria
fungus producing spores which are either rain splashed
or wind-blown to infect freshly cut pruning wounds.
“The spores find it very easy to make their way into
the vascular tissue (responsible for carrying water and
nutrients through the vine) and once they germinate
they start to grow, killing the tissue as they go.”
This dead tissue appears as staining within the trunk
of a vine, very noticeable when the trunk is sliced open.

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

both will lead, at different times
to the death of the vine.”
But as Sosnowski said, it
is not all doom and gloom,
because there are management
practices that can help stymie
the disease. Remedial surgery
is one of those (more on that in
a later issue).
And wound protection,
which is the best protection
going forward.
“We have a number of blocks
that management practices have
included wound protection
during the five years. Since
2006, certain blocks had wound
protection of all wounds larger
than 25mm and since 2013 all
wounds have been protected.
“We have a threshold of vines
up to 20 years of age, with just
20 percent disease incidence.
None of these blocks have
gone over 20 percent infection.
Compare that with what we
see with the rest of the sample,
blocks with 20-year-old vines
with 80 percent plus infection.
This is a very positive
direction.”
tessa.nicholson@me.com

POWDERY MILDEW SUPER PROTECTANT

COMBAT RESISTANCE AND CELEBRATE
SUCCESS THIS VINTAGE WITH
POWERFUL POWDERY
MILDEW CONTROL

Â® FLUTE is a registered trademark of Nippon Soda Co., Ltd.

Mealybugs

Avoid the
slippery
downward
spiral
TESSA NICHOLSON

PLANT & Food Research’s
Vaughn Bell has seen a lot of
mealybugs in his time, but even
he was stunned to see photos of
infestations in Marlborough this
past vintage.
Bell, who spoke at the recent
NZW Grape Days on controlling
mealybugs, said photos shown
to the Marlborough audience
highlighted how serious the
problem has become in the
region. How growers react to
that and in what way, will play
a vital role in the future of the
pest.
“Mealybugs are everywhere.
No matter what we do, we have
to learn to live with them.
We can never eradicate them,
but we want to minimize the
influence in our grape vines.”
Unfortunately, Bell pointed

out, in Marlborough’s case,
that minimising has relied on
something he’s referring to as
‘hard’ chemicals like prothiofos,
chlorpyrifos, and others, which
he says is not the way forward.
“Since 2016, around onethird (or 1500) of all Marlborough blocks were treated with

The photos that show
how bad mealybug
was in Marlborough
this year.
PHOTOS MATT FOX

you have the opportunity to
ensure that resistance to those
softer active ingredients doesn’t
occur, meaning that chemistry
can continue to work effectively
against mealybug.”
He also suggested that
instead of applying one or two
sprays each season, growers
should consider applying three
for a few years, particularly to
those blocks and/or vineyards
badly affected by mealybugs.
“You are probably struggling
to get on two as it is, especially
at those pinch points in the
season. But I think given the
extent of the feedback received
from the sector, we need to look
at new ways of managing this
problem and this option might
be one of them.”
Admitting he was suggesting
increased chemical use, which
is counter to industry’s wish to
reduce reliance on synthetic
inputs, Bell said this idea is
proposed as a short-term
solution for a long-term gain.
“You don’t need to always
look at a three-spray spring
programme. Maybe when you
have got on top of the mealybug
problem and the population is
reduced in two or three years,
you can go back to two applications at or around flowering.”
In summary, Bell said if the
audience members took nothing
more out of his presentation, he
wanted them to consider that
hard chemistry is a short-term
solution, not the long-term

way forward. Instead adopt a
‘soft’ insecticide programme
that maximises the value of the
vineyard ecosystem, including
the role and influence of
beneficial insects.”

MAKING THE MOST OF
CHEMICAL CONTROL
Andrew Blakeman from AJB
Solutions NZ Ltd said chemical
control success relies on six
important factors; pre-harvest
monitoring, chemical choice,
timing, interval, coverage and
dose.
Pre-harvest monitoring.
This allows you to find out the
extent of the mealybug problem.
There should be no more than
10 mealybugs per 100 leaves.
Monitor and collect data, so you
can determine if last season’s
chemical use was effective or
not.
Chemical choice. Use
pro g r am me s t hat a l l ow
beneficials to flourish – in other
words soft chemicals. “Stay away
from hard broad spectrum
insecticides that partially
control the pest but also wipe
out a large proportion of the
beneficial. Other industries
in New Zealand have weaned
themselves of broad spectrum
insecticides, there is no reason
the wine industry can’t.”
Timing and Interval. Trial
work has shown that applications closest to flowering have
given the best results, rather
than when the vines have very

little leaf coverage. “You have a
larger surface to get chemical
onto, to come in contact with
mealybug and you have more
crawlers present.” Blakeman
said if you only make one application of a chemical it should be
immediately pre-flowering. “If
you are going for two applications, one at pre-flowering and
the other application should be
10 – 14 days prior to that.” A
spirotetramat up to 10 days post
flowering will further extend the
period of insecticide cover. As
with all chemical use, growers are advised to consult the
NZW spray schedule and their
wine companies. All mealybug
insecticides can be included
with your usual powdery mildew applications.
Coverage. It is essential if
you are wanting to get on top
of mealybugs. “Buprofezin
is a contact insecticide so it
has to come in contact with
the mealybug at the time of
application or very shortly
afterwards. If you don’t make
contact and you have mealybugs
there, you will not kill them.”
Dose. “Our suggestion is
to concentrate spray at about
two times concentrate at half
the point of run-off. This is
probably higher than what you
are spraying anyway. But you
need to maximise that coverage
and one of the ways to do that
is by increasing our application
volume.”
tessa.nicholson@me.com

Image: MarlboroughNZ.com

synthetic pyrethroid for the
control of adult grass grub flying in spring.”
That reliance is creating a
cumulative influence he says,
which is likely to come back and
bite us.
“Ultimately it is going to
lead us down a very difficult
track. That hard chemistry is
going to contribute to the loss
of many beneficial insects like
parasitoids. When that occurs,
you end up with reduced
influence of biological control.”
That in itself will lead to what
Bell says they call “induced
outbreaks”.
“You are never going to kill
all of the mealybugs, all you
will do is take the cream off
that population. But there will
always be a residual mealybug
population and ultimately you
create a downward spiral for
the next year as your beneficial
insects struggle to establish in
affected vineyards. Your baseline
population of mealybugs is
just higher the following years,
leading to what becomes a
cumulative downward spiral.”
The option he suggested
is to move away from hard
chemicals and look at the softer
options. With at least two active
ingredients now available to
growers, Bell says there are
multiple products with differing
modes of action.
“If you are using those
products properly, and with
properly calibrated machinery,

The question of
business models
One of the questions the PwC Strategic Review asked during its
study of the New Zealand wine industry, was centered on business
models. How are they evolving and what are the implications for the
industry overall? Tessa Nicholson looks at the findings.
N E W Z E A L A N D’ S wine
industr y is small on an
international scale, and it appears
the make-up of our industry
follows suit.
The PwC report on business
models shows that 87 percent of
this country’s wineries fall into
the category of small – which
means they have sales of less
than 200,000 litres.
Medium sized wineries,
those with sales of 200,000 –
4 million litres make up 10
percent of wineries, while large
scale (sales of over 4 million
litres) make up just three
percent of wineries.
However the figures are
turned on their head when you
look at the percentage of exports
each category is responsible for.
Small exports – 14 percent
Medium exports – 22 percent
Large exports – 64 percent
The number of largescale wineries has increased
significantly in the past decade,
going from just six in 2008 to
17 in 2018. However, the report
points out that small wineries
are an integral part of the New
Zealand wine story.
“Smaller players add variety
to the New Zealand wine story
and often generate innovations
in production and wine styles.”
Larger players though
are helping to build the
reputation of New Zealand
inter nat iona l ly, t hroug h
marketing and reach.
Grower numbers in
New Zealand have dropped

44 //

significantly from a peak of
1,128 in 2010 to 699 in 2018.
That drop in numbers (28
percent) is despite the 27
percent increase in plantings
throughout the country. The
report says this is a sign of the
consolidation that has been
occurring with growers looking
to take advantage of economies
of scale.
In terms of moving forward,
PwC says there are a number
of trends that are changing the
face of the New Zealand wine
industry.
They include outsourcing
bottling and packaging, using
contract wineries to create new
labels, a decrease in the number
of wholesalers, distributors and
importers, a decrease in grower
numbers but an increase in the
size of their holdings, and the
ability of wineries to sell direct
to the consumer.
All of these are helping
to reduce certain costs, and
provide business flexibility.
Another facet of the report
on business models, is how
foreign owned wine industry
companies play a strategic role
in New Zealand.
While close to half of all the
large-scale wineries are owned
by foreign entities, they are also
responsible for over a third of all
New Zealand wine sales.
There are other positives
associated with the foreign
owned companies – number one
being they tend to pay growers
more for their fruit, than New

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

V17 $/Tonne

Winery Ownership
New Zealand

Foreign

All

MB SB

$1,702

$1,804

$1,732

Other grapes

$1,675

$2,086

$1,811

All grapes

$1,695

$1,886

$1,753

Zealand owned companies.
The P wC report also
points out that foreign owned
companies export less wine
in bulk format, than New
Zealand owned wineries – just
31.7 percent of the total of all
unpackaged wines.
The ability of foreign
entities to invest in the New
Zealand economy cannot be
underestimated. They have
helped increase plantings, as
well as provided employment
opportunities in wine growing
regions. Then there is their
ability to find routes to market
and introduce technology from
their home countries.
“ The scale and global
networks of foreign owned

entities help to build the
reputation and presence of all
New Zealand wine, benefitting
the entire industry.
“Technology transfer and
global knowledge permeates
and (is) shared with local
industry,” the report states.
In terms of what New
Zealand Winegrowers can do to
support business model success
and diversity, PwC highlights
the need for educating members
on profitability.
“There is a weak case for
further NZW involvement in
business model success given
free market mechanisms.”
The full PwC Strategic Review,
is available on the nzwine.com,
members website.

Challenge.
Think. Do
As we head towards 2020, the timing is perfect for the New Zealand
wine industry to look ahead. That’s what this year’s Bragato
Conference will focus on, as Tessa Nicholson discovers.
NASA AND wineries, synthetic
biology and revolutionary solutions,
climate variability and grapevine
growth, biodiversity and positive
culture, food regulations and new
breeding techniques, wine tourism
and economic growth. All of these
subjects will be covered at this year’s
Bragato Conference being held in
Hawke’s Bay.
The line up of local and international
speakers is impressive. Jack Bobo,
CEO Futurity, who helped develop
revolutionary solutions to world-wide
problems such as food, energy and
health and was a senior advisor on
global food policy, biotechnology
and agricultural trade with the US
Department of State will discuss
how agriculture can save the planet,
before it destroys it.
Jill Brigham a former NASA manager,
and now Executive Director at
the Sustainable Wine and Food
Processing Centre at UC Davis will
provide insight into best practices for
high efficiency food and beverage

46 //

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

production.
Robin Shaw, referred to as Australia’s
wine tourism guru, will talk about
how tourism can help boost your
sales in Australia.
Creative marketing and using social
media to achieve it is a subject close
to Cassie Roma’s heart. As the head
of marketing for the Warehouse
Group, she is more than qualified to
provide up to date information.
Dr Eric Crampton Chief economist,
the NZ Initiative, will take on one of
the lexions of the past few years –
Fake News. Should be interesting.
Local experts including Darrell
Lizamore, Mark Krasnow, Rebecca
Deed, Mike Trought, Vaughn Bell,
Matt Goddard and Jane Skilton,
will add to the two days discussing,
Challenge, Think, Do. Don’t miss it.

Bragato Conference
McLean Park
Hawke’s Bay
bragato.org.nz

20

19

BRAGATO PROGRAMME 2019
nzwine.com/bragato

DAY 1 - WEDNESDAY 28 AUGUST 2019
PLENARY 1: CHALLENGE. THINK. DO

DAY 2 – THURSDAY 29 AUG 2019
PLENARY 5: WINE TREK, THE NEXT GENERATION
How is a winery like the International Space Station? - Jill
Brigham

What’s in that bottle: is wine “fingerprinting” really a
thing? - Eric Wilkes

Bayer Young Vit Finalists
For the past two months young viticulturists all over the country
have been pitting themselves against their peers, in an effort to
represent their region at the national finals.
The following are the six
finalists. Just which of them
will take out the title of
Bayer Young Viticulturist of
the Year 2019?

NORTHLAND –
JAKE DROMGOOL,
THE LANDING
HAVING GROWN up in Kerikeri,
Jake had his first wine industry job
at the age of 14 and despite studying
commerce and travelling overseas,
he was drawn back to the industry.
He has his own vineyard and last
year launched his own label, 144
Islands.
This is the second year Jake has
made it to the national finals.

HAWKE’S BAY –
NICK PUTT,
VILLA MARIA
ORIGINALLY NICK was
pursuing a Bachelor of
Agriculture Science, majoring in
horticulture. But time spent on
vineyards in both Martinborough
and North Canterbury drew him
to the wine industry. In 2016 he
was granted a cadetship with
Villa Maria, and late last year
gained the position of Assistant
Manager at Villa Maria’s Gimblett
Gravels vineyard.

48 //

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

Photo courtesy of Riversun Nursery

When
Reliability
When Reliability
Matters.
Matters.

WELLINGTON WINE COUNTRY –
GEORGE BUNNETT, CRAGGY RANGE
ONE OF the great things about being a viticulturist for George,
is the ability to be able to work outside. That and being able to see
your year’s work in every bottle produced. George is an Assistant
Manager for Craggy Range, and loves the thought that the wine
industry provides opportunities to travel the world while gaining
work experience.

Viking Containment is New Zealand’s
Viking Containment
is New
Zealand’s
leading
supplier and
installer
of leading
supplier
and
installer
of
geosynthetic
products
geosynethic products for the primary,
for
the
primary,
civil
and
building
construction
civil and building construction sectors.
sectors.

Associated Products
Associated
➤
Geoladder®Products
MARLBOROUGH –
BEN RICHARDS, INDEVIN
THE GROWER liaison officer at Marlborough’s Indevin, Ben is
responsible for managing close to 30 growers around the province.
Having completed an EIT degree in Hawke’s Bay he stayed in the
region before being promoted and moving to Marlborough in 2018.
This is Ben’s third year in the finals. He represented Hawke’s Bay in
2017, and Marlborough last year.

NORTH CANTERBURY –
ZOE MARYCHURCH,
PEGASUS BAY
ZOE WENT straight
from school to gain a
degree in Viticulture and
Oenology. Thinking she
wanted to be a winemaker, a stint working
in the vineyards changed
her mind forever. She
describes herself as being
obsessed with Pinot
Noir and organics, and a
proud Cantabrian. This is
Zoe’s second year in the
national finals.

KICKSTART your
vines this Spring
Apply Mycorrcin at budbreak to activate your
soil microbiology when the vine needs it.
Mycorrcin boosts beneficial soil microbes, including
mycorrhizal fungi, to help general plant health and improve
wine quality by increasing nutrient uptake in the vine.
Available from leading Horticultural Suppliers.

Call 0800 116 229
BIOS 021 Mycorrcin Advert New Copy.indd 1

50 //

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

biostart.co.nz
13/6/19 10:41 pm

CENTRAL OTAGO –
SIMON GOURLEY,
DOMAINE THOMSON
SIMON HAS won
both the Central
Otago Young Viticulturist 2013 and
Cellar Hand of the
Year 2016 award.
He has worked in
both the winery, and
vineyard, full time,
to make him a more
well-rounded Viticulturist. Organic
and biodynamic
farming is where
his passion lies with
a strong focus on
sustainability.

THE FINALS of the Bayer Young
Viticulturist of the Year will be held
during Bragato, in Hawke’s Bay, 28
& 29 August.
The prize package for the winner
includes: use of a Hyundai Kona for a

year, an Ecotrellis Travel Grant, Bahco
golden secateurs, a leadership week
and cash.
They will also go on to represent
the wine industry in the Young
Horticulturist of the Year Competition

in November.
There is also an AGMARDT prize
for the best national finalist’s
project which they undertake
in the build up to the national final.

NOW READ
IT ONLINE
GENERAL NEWS
PEOPLE PROFILES
AND MUCH MORE...
REGIONAL UPDATES
OPINION

www.nzwinegrower.co.nz

Reading the magazine online has never been easier.

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019 // 51

Women in Wine

Margaret
Harvey

MNZM MW
WORDS – TESSA NICHOLSON

52 //

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

Master of Wine Margaret Harvey
may not be so well known amongst
younger wine industry members.
But ask any one of the pioneers of the
80s and 90s about her, and you are
bound to hear glowing reviews.
BECAUSE HARVEY was one
of the first and most influential
stalwarts of New Zealand wine’s
export push into the UK.
Born in New Zealand, Harvey left for her O.E in the 70s,
working as a pharmacist in London for a number of years. Having an interest in wine, (she had
worked as a locum in Henderson so knew a lot of the winegrowers in the area) she quickly
began learning more. Undertaking WSET levels and joining the
International Wine and Food
Society, her interest grew exponentially – to the point that she
began considering undertaking
the Master of Wine exam.

Only problem at that period
in time, was to do so, she had to
either write about wine or be a
member of the wine trade.
“I did neither of those, so
I thought I had better change
that. I had always thought New
Zealand had great potential for
its wine and I thought I might
just bring a few cases over and
test the market.”
She wasn’t the very first to
bring New Zealand wine into
the market – John Avery of Bristol had claimed that title. But
Harvey followed close behind.
The year was 1986 and her
first shipment was 100 cases.
It was a mixed import, Matua

FOR STRONGER
PLANTING
USE SUPERZYME™
Superzyme™ contains both beneficial fungi
and bacteria, which when introduced to
soils is PROVEN to benefit plant health
and provide optimum survival.
Give your young plants the best possible start,
to:
• Increase plant survival rate at planting time
• Increase root growth
• Give young vines an optimum start.

Valley, Delegat’s, Morton Estate,
some Vidal and a little bit of
Stonyridge.
“I brought 100 cases of wine
in and then thought – I don’t
know what I am going to do
with it. I can’t just sit and drink
it all – much as I would have
liked to.”
Enter Philip Atkinson from
the trade section at New Zealand House. Knowing she had
the cases of New Zealand wine,
he phoned Harvey and gave
her a contact number for John
Tovey, renowned restauranteur
and chef at the Miller Howe
Windermere in the Lakes District.
Tovey had decided, ironically after the Rainbow Warrior bombing in New Zealand,
that he would no longer serve
French wines in his restaurant.
Initially he began replacing
them with Australian wine,
but as they became more mainstream, he moved onto South
African. But once a trade ban

came in that prohibited the
import of South African wines,
Tovey had to rethink – again.
He had heard some rumors
about New Zealand wine and
made contact with New Zealand
House – who then passed the
info onto Harvey.
“So I called him up and he
said; ‘tell you what my dear,
send me a sample bottle of everything you’ve got and send me
a bill.’”
He loved the samples and
within two days of receiving
them, he rang Harvey, asked
her how many cases she had
and then bought the entire lot.
“I couldn’t believe it. I had
100 cases of wine one day and
five days later I had none.”
She says Tovey became a great
proponent of New Zealand and
was the impetus for her establishing her own import agency
New Zealand Fine Wines. The
fact Tovey had been her first client made the next step of getting our wines into the market,

“The use of Superzyme™
via fertigation has
assisted us to achieve
an 89% survival take.”
VINEYARD PLANT NURSERY MANAGER

W W W. R D 2 . C O . N Z
RSF@RD2.CO.NZ • 09 372 9155

AVAILABLE AT ALL
GOOD RETAILERS.
INSIST ON THE BEST.

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019 // 53

Brought to you by

Roots, Shoots & Fruits
Soil Health, Plant Health, YOUR Health
a whole lot easier she says.
“When I went to see a new
customer, they would always
ask who I was selling to. I would
immediately say John Tovey
and they would go; ‘Oh if John
Tovey is buying it, we will definitely buy some.’ So he was my
passport.”
Harvey always intended Fine
Wines to be a one person business. She also realised that the
companies who had been her
initial clients would probably
need to move on, once they
began to secure a market presence.
“I realised once the momentum started with these companies they needed to grow. I
appreciated the fact they would
want to leave me sooner or
later – they would want their
own importer just selling and
showcasing their wines. I looked
upon it as growing pains.”
So Harvey decided after a
suggestion from her brother,
that she should have her own
label, something she could call
her own.
“I thought about that for a
while and thought that’s not a
bad idea.”
Aotea Wines was born, with
Hermann Seifried (one of her
clients) making the Sauvignon
Blanc, some Chardonnay and
Syrah. The label continued
until Harvey’s retirement in
2009 when Seifried’s bought
the rights to the label. It is still
found in some prestigious outlets within the UK.
By this stage Harvey had
passed her Master of Wine
Exam in 1991. She was New
Zealand’s first woman to achieve
the title, and went on to write
for numerous publications
and judge at a number of wine
shows.
But her greatest emphasis
was on promoting New Zealand
wine whenever she could. And
it wasn’t always easy.
While people were always
nostalgic about New Zealand,
equating it with somewhere

54 //

they wanted to visit, the fact
we made wine was something
of a misnomer.
“Oh gosh, are you making wine?,” being a common
response she says. But over time
that sell became much easier.
“When I started doing these
wine tastings I was doing about
three or four a week. I would
come into the room and give a
bit of history about myself and
I would say has anyone been
to New Zealand. And out of
about 30 or 40 people, there
may be one or two hands go
up. Fast track to 2001 when I
was still out there showcasing the wines, I would ask

NZ High Commissioner, Right Hon
Jonathan Hunt, vests Margaret
Harvey MW with her insignia as an
Honorary Life Member of the Wine
Institute of New Zealand.

“I brought 100 cases of wine
in and then thought – I don’t
know what I am going to do
with it. I can’t just sit and
drink it all – much as I would
have liked to.”

With Sir Hardie Boys - receiving
her NZ Order of Merit.

ACCOLADES
MARGARET HARVEY’S dedication to the New Zealand
wine industry has not gone unnoticed over the years. In
1997, she was awarded the New Zealand Order of Merit
for services to New Zealand wine. In 2005 New Zealand
Winegrowers also showed their appreciation for all she
had done to help establish an export market in the UK, by
making her an Honorary Life Member.

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

the same question and nearly
every hand would go up.”
The fact New Zealand made
wine and good wine too, was
no longer a hard sell. People
knew about us.
Harvey is one of those who
helped ensure that information
was out there.
Still domiciled in London,
she is now well retired, but continues to be one of our greatest
advocates.
“Amongst my friends and
their friends, I am always talking about New Zealand wines.
And I only serve it when I have
people round for dinner.
“I probably drink more New
Zealand wine now than when I
was selling it – I tasted when I
was selling. But now I am buying it like everybody else.”
Thanks Margaret.

NEW
HOLLAND
BRAUD

New
9090X Twin
Hopper

NEW HOLLAND IS RECOGNISED
AS THE WORLD LEADER IN
GRAPE HARVESTERS.
The new Braud 9000X Series is built with proven Braud DNA to deliver high quality,
clean grapes to some of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s top vineyards. With industry-exclusive features
such as the Noria buckets, and the SDC shaking system, our harvesters are designed
to be gentle on the vines, provide better climbing capability in steep hills, and be
more efficient and easy to operate. Couple these harvest-focused features, with
industry-leading cleaning systems, such as the patented SOCMA destemmer, now
available with a side conveyor configuration, and
your operation will benefit from less time spent
FINANCE AVAILABLE FROM
cleaning at the winery and better tasting wines.

4.99%

*

Contact us now for an indent price.

0800 582 828

07 573 9107

0800 66 79 663

19NWD077

*Terms & Conditions apply. 4.99% based on 40% deposit with 60 monthly payments and GST back in the third month.

Let’s toast 200 years!
From humble beginnings of a vine planted
in Kerikeri in 1819, to the globally successful
wine industry we know today, New Zealand
Winegrowers invite you to celebrate this important
milestone with us. Beginning with a ceremonial
re-planting at the historic Stone Store, followed by
a regional wine tasting and dinner on the Waitangi
Treaty Grounds, it is a day not to be missed.
Ceremonial Planting &
Wine Tasting - Stone Store, Kerikeri
Dinner - Waitangi Treaty Grounds
Wednesday, 25 September 2019

Judging team announced
Steve Flamsteed as 2019’s
international judges.
Once again Shona White
will be the Competition Coordinator.
Judging takes place from
14-17 October. Entries for
the 2019 competition are
open from 5 August to 6
September.

PANEL LEADERS

SENIOR JUDGES

Jane Skilton MW

Liz Wheadon

Jane Cooper

Nat Christiansen

Phil Brodie

Ant McKenzie

Nick Picone

Matt Murphy

Anna Flowerday

Vanessa Robson
www.nzwine.com/members/events/new-zealand
E: info@nzwineoftheyear.com
Sponsorship opportunities are currently available for both New Zealand
Wine of the Year™ and New Zealand Wine Awards.
For further information, please contact Angela Willis, Global Events
Manager, on (09) 306 5642 or angela@nzwine.com

Lauren Swift
Murray Cook
Matt Kirby
James Millton

Be alert now – Buy direct and save!

GC8392 07/19

THE JUDGING team has
been announced for the
New Zealand Wine of the
Year™ competition.
Led by Chair of Judges
Warren Gibson and Deputy
Chair Ben Glover, the team
will also be joined by Canadian wine writer Treve Ring
and Australian winemaker

We have wireless cameras, alerts and alarms available for all applications
G

G

AMAZIN

AMAZIN

1.6KM
RANGE

100 metres
between beams

DRIVEWAY ALERTS
n
n
n
n

Be alerted when a visitor enters your driveway
4 Channel Receiver features a range of outputs and sounds
Reliable, designed for outdoors
Battery powered sensor - 1.6km range

IT’S NOT what you expect to
see when you visit a vineyard.
Towering plants of more than
two metres playing host to a
myriad of insects from bees to
praying mantes. A plant that
has uses dating back thousands
of years, and is still used today
for everything from clothing to
insulation. These strangers in the
vineyard are in fact industrial
hemp plants. And they are part
of a trial, that could produce
positive implications for the wine
industry in New Zealand.
Kirsty Harkness, Managing
Director and co-owner of
Mount Base Vineyards in
Marlborough, is the tour de
force behind this innovative
trial. Having obtained a license
to grow hemp late last year,
she is now focusing on whether
the plant can offer positive
nuances to the vineyard itself,
along with providing growers
with a potential secondary
income.
In November last year the
law changed, allowing for the
first time, hemp seeds to be
sold for human consumption.
Up until then, while industrial
hemp could be grown for a
range of different products,
the hemp seed itself was only
allowed to be pressed for oil.
That is despite the fact that the
seed on its own contains copious
amounts of protein, omega 3,
omega 6, omega 9, magnesium,
zinc and fibre. It is described as
being one of nature’s richest

58 //

sources of essential fatty acids.
When planted on its own, a
hectare of hemp can produce up
to a tonne of seeds, which given
the miniscule size of the seed
itself, is a solid return.
Harkness wasn’t too worried
about harvesting the seeds this
year, her trial was more about
seeing whether the hemp plant
could grow within a vineyard
and what impact it would have
on the neighbouring vines.
The trial was slow to begin,
given Harkness didn’t receive
her license (from Ministry of
Health) until Christmas Eve.
That meant she had missed
the normal window for sowing
seeds, November/December.
Undeterred, she planted out two
hectares in vineyards around
Marlborough on January 4,
the beginning of a six week
period where hardly any rain
fell. Not ideal. But it did give

her the chance to see how the
hemp would cope in super dry
conditions.
“We had only 10mm in a 70
day period, yet the hemp grew
outside the vines to two metres
tall. It was growing a foot a
week, in front of our eyes.”
With four different sites,
Harkness was able to trial
different irrigation water rates
over the growing period. Some
were watered at the beginning,
some were watered just once in
the season, some for four weeks
and some for six weeks. Some
received no water at all.

HEMP IS NOT MARIJUANA
MANY PEOPLE get totally confused when it comes to
distinguishing between hemp and marijuana. It’s not
surprising, given the two plants look very alike and even
smell alike.
The difference is that hemp plants contain no more than
0.3 percent (by dry weight) of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the psychoactive substance found in marijuana. By
comparison, marijuana typically contains 5 to 20 percent
THC.
The low rates of THC in hemp mean they do not produce
psychoactive effects when ingested.

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

“The plants I watered for six
weeks grew the best,” she says.
“But normally you would plant
in November and they would
get those spring rains, that
would have the same effect.”
The plants also attracted
insect life, in numbers Harkness
found hard to believe. Bees,
honey and bumble, praying
mantes, lady birds and
caterpillars among others
created such a din, it was the
equivalent of an engine running.
“I have never experienced
anything like that before. It was
fascinating!.”
Part of the attraction may
well have been the fact the hemp
leaves undergo guttation, where
the plant finds water deep in
the soil and brings it up to its
leaves, making it available for
the insects. And with a feeder
root that goes straight down, she
doesn’t believe hemp threatens
the vine’s water uptake. In fact
hemp is also believed to bring
up Potassium from lower down
too, making it available for the
vines But more research on that
is to be conducted this coming
season.
While there are 13 hemp

Hemp plants
attract a myriad
of insects.

cultivars available for New
Zealand growers, due to
Harkness’s late plant date,
Kompolti was the only one
available. Growing to more than
two metres, it isn’t the most ideal
for inter-row cropping but she
says it was a great trial starter.
Other cultivars that are much
shorter and won’t compete with
fruit for sunlight may be trialed
this coming year.
“We plan to trial a few
different cultivars this coming
season, including a 100-day
from when you plant, vegetative
cycle cultivar. Our trials will
include different planting
months, starting in September,
to see whether it makes a
difference, before we have full
budburst and competition with
canopy for sunlight hours.”
As for the mulch from the
hemp plants, Harkness says it’s
exceptionally good.
“We mulched what we had
and placed it under the vines
as a trial and because it has a
resin in its trichomes it is sticky

and sets itself. It doesn’t blow
away like straw would and if you
lift it up it is damp underneath.
(Hemp holds four times its body
weight in water). There were
also no weeds growing through
it. So far it has exceeded our
expectations as it grows large
quantities of biomass and I am
looking forward to larger trial
areas in the season coming. It
was everything I had hoped for
and some.”
Vindicated from the first year
of trials, Harkness is planning
to plant out 60 hectares around
Marlborough this coming
spring. Thoughtful Viticulture’s
Mark Krasnow will conduct
research on how the hemp
impacts on the vine’s nutrient
and water uptake, how it affects
vine health, what the mulch
provides to the soil structure,
while other research will look
into whether hemp impacts on
wine flavours and aromas.
While Harkness is the very
first New Zealand grape grower
to plant industrial hemp among

vines, (and potentially the first
in the world licensed to grow
both) she is unlikely to be the
last. A large number of wineries
and number of growers have
approached her for advice on
the how, whys and wherefores
of growing hemp. Consequently,
she has established a Facebook

page, VinHemp – Vineyard
Hemp Cover Crops NZ, where
she will constantly update
information.
On another note, Harkness
was elected as an executive
member of the New Zealand
Hemp Association, in late June.

As the push towards non-synthetic chemistry builds momentum, efficacy is under the spotlight.
It’s time to look at not just what we’re using in the vineyard, but how we are using it.
CHRIS AND HELEN Henry
of Henry Manufacturing
understand that long-term
profitability and sustainability
go hand in hand. They are
convinced that the best way to
achieve this for Marlborough
Sauvignon Blanc is a slight shift
in cultural practice within the
vineyard.
Chris is adamant, “This isn’t
about organics (as organics isn’t
just about fungicidal products),
it’s about giving growers a
good financial outcome while
using alternatives to synthetic
chemistry - and all the
advantages that delivers. How
do we get people engaged in
long term thinking as opposed
to short term gain?”
Henry Manufacturing has
been involved in grape disease
research for over two decades.
The company has not only
produced a range of effective
fungicides, but each year
invests back into testing and
field trials to determine the best
viticultural practice needed to
deliver optimal results.
Trials in Hawke’s Bay
and Gisborne have proven
the effectiveness of contact
fungicides when vines are
managed appropriately. Chris
believes this occurs when
growers are already attuned
to the importance of head
thinning and leaf removal
around the bunch line to ensure
the sprays meet their target.
Traditionally, Marlborough
Sauvignon Blanc grapes are
grown differently. However,
with the rise in incidence and
severity of powdery mildew,
the need to reassess viticultural
practice is more pressing than
at any time in the past.

Typically,
Marlborough
Sauvignon Blanc has high
vigour.
The well-fertilised,
amply irrigated vines grow
a dense canopy that reflects
the widely held belief that the
fruit delivers better flavours
when grown behind leaves. The
variable efficacy of fungicide
sprays in some Marlborough
vineyards is a result of this
prevailing practice.
With a slight change in vine
management, all fungicide
options will have a better
chance of working.
As an example: for the cost
of a head thin pre-flowering,
growers gain the immediate
benefit of sprays working much
more effectively.

‘The hypothesis is do
it once, do it early, reach
your target, and the
benefits will flow down
the line,’ says Chris.
Get it wrong and growers
can be confronted with
marginally effective spray
rounds, additional labour
costs and the stress of labour
shortages to halt disease spread
and clean up fruit.
Science supports this view.
Dr David Gadoury, an expert
on powdery mildew, has
demonstrated that if berries
are protected from infection,
they will develop ontogenic
resistance to powdery mildew
21 days after fruit set. From
this point, the canopy can be
allowed to grow back.
The Henrys will work
alongside a diverse group of
growers in the coming season
to evaluate changes in vine
management and the results
they deliver.

Mark Allen, of Allen Vineyard Advisory says
an effective head shoot thin at the right time
is integral to good canopy management.
“If you can see through the canopy you can spray through the
canopy and get good coverage.”
“When Smart and Robinson wrote “Sunlight into Wine”
in 1991, they encapsulated what is required in the vineyard;
it’s about spatial gaps and the cheapest fungicide in the world
– sunlight.
“Chasmothecia loves the area around the crown and hates
sunshine. Mealy bugs love humidity and shade. Sauvignon
blanc is such a vigorous variety, it really does need head
thinning.
“It’s a win-win cycle, the canes you’re left with become sun
canes and initiation for the following year increases. Light
makes the canes more fruitful and cane selection at pruning
easier. The best money ever spent is spent on a head thin.”

ADVERTORIAL

Jason Flowerday, co-owner of Te Whare Ra
has a clear message: stop farming disease and
start shoot thinning.
‘IT’S ABOUT doing the basics properly,’ he says. ‘Contact
sprays need contact with the target. If this doesn’t occur,
then the sprays won’t work.’
‘Therefore, by shoot thinning, leaf reduction and trimming
you allow for more open canopies, providing the correct
conditions for contact sprays to do their job. This also allows
nature to help, by creating an environment of lower humidity,
increased air flow, light and heat.’
‘Taking the long-term view with an early shoot thin has a
flow on effect to next year’s growth. Why grow excess cane
for no extra gain in fruit quality?’

Stuart Dudley, regional viticulturist for Villa
Maria says good cultural practice has always
been a priority.
“IN YEARS gone by, some systemic sprays have allowed
growers to get away with congested canopies, but this is
no longer the case. With increasing reliance on contact
sprays good canopy management is essential. The open
canopy allows the spray to hit its target, it also changes the
environment around the bunch.
“We use a range of methods including shoot thinning early
in the season, especially around the head. Later, targeted
leaf plucking allows good air flow while dappled light
helps with flavour development.”

Stephen Bradley, Head of Viticulture at
Constellation Brands says it’s time to move
beyond the joke about sauvignon blanc being
the ‘anti-grape’.
“THE GRAPE is managed
differently to all other varieties;
well fed, well irrigated and
vigorous to the point effective
spraying is unlikely without
use of systemic sprays.
“Simple changes ultimately save
money and increase the efficacy
of contact sprays. A quick head
thin or ‘grab’ and eliminating
overlapping cane ends will go
a long way towards improved
vine health.
“Good spraying practice will
also help,” Stephen says. “Watch
tractor speed and don’t skimp
with water rates. It’s about
coverage: better contact, better
outcome.”

Effective spraying
requires effective preparation
Canopy management, including
pruning, is the foundation for
everything else a grower does
in the vineyard. In the fight
against powdery mildew and
other pathogens, alternatives
to toxic chemistry are highly

effective when used correctly.
The pathway to sustainability
and profitability is not a search
for further fungicides, but a
shift in vine management to
allow every spray round to hit its
target.

I N THE first Sommeliers
Choice Awards held in the US,
a Marlborough winery gained
medals for every single wine they
entered in the competition. Of
12 awarded medals, the te Pa
range picked up two golds, nine
silvers and one bronze, across
the full range of their portfolio.
They were also awarded the New
Zealand wine of the year for their
2018 te Pa Sauvignon Blanc.
For the company which
has only been in the US
market for three years, the
acknowledgment is hard to
place a price on.
“ The main reason we
entered the competition, was
because the wines are judged
by sommeliers,” says winemaker
Sam Bennett. “Getting our
wines in front of the right
people, the ones that go back
to the restaurants having seen
the wines means they may think
about adding them to their lists.
The somms are the interface to
the consumer on a day to day
basis which is really important.”
While it can often be difficult
to gauge the effect of winning
a medal at a wine competition,
Bennett says within two weeks
of another top announcement
from Decanter in June, the
entire production of one of
their wines - the 2017 barrel
fermented te Pa Sauvignon
Blanc Oke - was snapped up by
one US distributor.
Interest in the other medal
winning varieties has been
on-going he says.
The Sommelier’s Choice
Awards had a judging panel of
21 top sommeliers, on-premise
wine buyers and wine directors
at US restaurants, hotels and

62 //

resorts, bars and clubs. All the
wines were judged according
to criteria such as how well
they paired with food items,
in addition to their overall
versatility.
The top gold medal te Pa
wine scored 93 points – the
top equal Sauvignon Blanc in
the competition. (The other was
Bird in Hand Sauvignon Blanc
2018, from Australia).
Two points behind on 91
points was the te Pa Reserve
C ol le c t ion St L e onard’s
Chardonnay, 2017.
Gaining silver medals, were
the te Pa barrel fermented
Sauvignon Blanc Oke, the te
Pa Reserve Collection Hillside
Sauvignon, the Pinot Noir, Koha
Sauvignon Blanc, Koha Pinot
Noir, te Pa Pinot Gris, Koha
Pinot Gris, te Pa Chardonnay
and te Pa Noble Sauvignon
Blanc. The te Pa Rosé was
awarded a bronze.
Bennett says it was a surprise
to see the entire range taking
out medals.
“To be that consistent is
nice, because being stylistically
consistence is as important as
perceived quality in the wine
competition environment.”
te Pa is a family owned wine
company with two main estate
vineyards – 200 hectares in the
Wairau Bar area and another
100ha in the Awatere Valley,
with several smaller parcels
around the Marlborough
region. Plans are to develop a
further 70 – 100 ha later this
year.
Having only started in 2011,
the company is now exporting
to eight international markets,
under three different labels;

wines, and this year they will
also release a single vineyard
Sauvignon from the Wairau Bar,
under the Seaside label, adding

COOPERAGE
IS OUR CRAFT

Since 1902

to the Collection’s Hillside
Sauvignon from the Awatere.
“These will be very different
stylistically and will show the
different characteristics of each
vineyard,” Bennett says.
te Pa was not the only
New Zealand winery to be
recognised in the awards,
although it was by far the most
awarded. Whitehaven’s 2018
Sauvignon Blanc was awarded
a gold medal, with Pencarrow,
Decibel, Tiki Estate and Duck
Hunter, being awarded silver
medals.
From the Sommelier’s
Choice Awards a Top 100
list has been released. te Pa
2018 Sauvignon Blanc was
placed at number 11, and
the Reserve Collection St
Leonard’s Chardonnay was 27.
Whitehaven’s Sauvignon Blanc
was ranked 38.

The diversity & inclusion conversation has begun.
PEOPLE are one of our industry’s greatest strengths and
having a diverse and inclusive culture ensures we attract
and retain the best people. We want to make sure that
everyone working in our sector feels they belong, has
equal opportunities to reach their goals and retains their
passion for New Zealand wine.
Our people come from all backgrounds, cultures, ages,
genders and communities. How we interact with each
other is important for the continued success of our
industry, as well as the success and wellbeing of everyone
working in it.
Nicky Grandorge from New Zealand Winegrowers led our
second Diversity and Inclusion Workshop for about 40
participants in Marlborough on 8 July, following an
earlier one in Central Otago. It was an interesting
and interactive session with presentations from
Mary Haddock-Staniland from Diversity Works
NZ and Andy Graves from Lion. Starting with a
surprising exercise, Mary was able to demonstrate
unconscious bias and how natural it is for us to
jump to wrong conclusions about information and
people. By doing so, we are missing out on valuable
input and resources - not to mention making
someone feel excluded rather than included. Andy
outlined Lion’s achievements over the last few
years in the diversity and inclusion space, creating
a positive people culture which is delivering both
economic and social benefits for Lion and its
workers.

discrimination and predjudice were raised.
There was a great turn out to the workshop with people
coming from a wide range of roles within the wine
industry, a good mix of genders, ages and people from
various countries. The comment was made that having
more senior leaders attend would help broaden the
conversation and encourage changes in company culture
where needed. The diversity and inclusion journey is
relevant to both small and large organisations, as we all
interact with a wide range of people on a daily basis, both
inside and outside of own organisations.
New Zealand Winegrowers plan to run more workshops
around the country later in the year, we hope to see
you there. 

The presentations were followed by small group
discussions where a number of examples of

Policy
Design

64 //

Training
& Education

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

Mobile On-site
Drug & Alcohol
Testing

Pre-Employment
Drugs & Alcohol
Testing

Comprehensive
Substance
Identification

Laboratory
Services

SAVE THE DATE - SEPTEMBER 2019

The NZW Advocacy team is coming your way!
The NZW Advocacy team is often members’ first port of call when they have curly
questions about Wine Act requirements, labelling and winemaking rules in different
markets, export problems, labour supply challenges, residue limits, and regulatory
compliance in areas like health and safety, liquor licensing, and employment.
Mary Haddock-Staniland
from Diversity Works

If you would like to find
out more about diversity
and inclusion, attend a
course on unconscious
bias or become a
Diversity Works NZ
member there is a
wealth of information
on their website.
diversityworksnz.org.nz

Come along to the Advocacy Roadshow to discuss hot topics, frequently asked
questions, and any specific regulatory or compliance issues that you might be facing.
The half day session will be suitable for anyone at your winery or vineyard with an
interest in ensuring your wine can be grown, made and sold legally in NZ and abroad.
If there are things that you would like to make sure we cover in your region, please
email silua.ettles@nzwine.com
The Roadshow will travel to most wine regions, so save the date and keep an eye
on the next newsletter for registration information. The full programme will be
out soon.
ROADSHOW LOCATIONS - SEPTEMBER 2019
Martinborough

Monday 9

Central Otago

Monday 16

Auckland

Tuesday 10

Blenheim

Tuesday 17

Northland TBC

Wednesday 11

Nelson

Tuesday 17

Gisborne

Thursday 12

North Canterbury Wednesday 18

Hawke’s Bay

Friday 13

The Ultimate in Versatility and Affordability

HYBRID
1012 &1212

A Division of IPL Plastics Inc.

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019 // 65

Sauvignon 2019

Aged Sauvignon Blanc
TESSA NICHOLSON

IT WAS a one-off comment, but
one that resonated with many
winemakers at Sauvignon 2019;
aged Sauvignon is an important
tenet in the New Zealand story.
Sam Harrop MW made the
point, briefly, when discussing
how to premiumise our flagship
variety.
“Importantly, something
that we often lose sight of with
Sauvignon, great wines of site
reveal more of their sense of
place with time in the bottle.”
So why is it that Marlborough
Sauvignon is seldom given the
chance to age? Is it because it
is better fresh, or is it because
consumers expect to drink the
latest vintage?
In an inter view with

Pera-Pellenc are world class designers and manufacturers of winery equipment, from hopper to
press, as well as temperature controlled thermo treatment systems. Pera merged with Pellenc
in 2014 making good sense in the eyes of the vine and wine industry. With more than 40 years of
innovative experience together they help create the worlds best wines.

0800 888 887 / hydralada.com / sales@hydralada.com

66 //

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

ormond nurseries
25x2

James Healy

WINEMAKER PUSHING
AGED SAUVIGNON
MARLBOROUGH’S DOG Point wines is one company that
is actively promoting older Sauvignon Blanc to its clients.
Winemaker James Healy says the industry needs to push
the fact that good wines, made well, will age as well as
any other white wine.
“Two of the best white wines I have ever had in my entire
life have been made from Sauvignon Blanc. One from
Bordeaux and the other from Sancerre. They were just
amazing wines and they were not young.”
He says there is no reason Marlborough can’t replicate
that standard. But he says it has to be made well, from
the best fruit.
“There are a lot that won’t age well, a lot just disappear.
But good ones age fantastically well. If they are
appropriately grown, the crop is not huge, you have an
amount of natural concentration. If the pressing has
been gentle and the wines have been made and cared for
during their production, before bottling and bottle well,
then the wines stay drinkable for years.”
He says most people who try older Dog Point Sauvignons
tend to be surprised.
“They always go – ‘I didn’t think this stuff was supposed
to age.”
Healy agrees with both Erica Crawford and Bob Campbell
that the industry has been hell bent on getting Sauvignon
into the market within months of being picked, and not
promoting the age ability.
“People need to appreciate that Sauvignon from
Marlborough will age. By pushing that, it has to be good
for the overall industry.”

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019 // 67

Sauvignon has created an image
the wines need to be drunk
early.
“The demand (for our
wines) has meant we have had
to manage our allocations.
We made a rod for our own
back. Basically we trained the
trade that this is what it should
be. Picked in March or April,
bottled in May and out to the
market shortly after. Now they
want the fresh vintage – it is
definitely the perception (in
the trade) that it has to be the
current vintage.”
Changing that perception
won’t be easy, she says although
Campbell says it can be straight
forward.
Sauvignon Blanc, appropriately grown and
made well, will age incredibly well.

thedrinksbusiness, Simon
Barker of Barker’s Marque
Wines said; I think (Sauvignon)
has the same peaks and troughs
as Pinot Noir in the aging
process, but no one considers it.”
That statement is something
t hat Er ica Crawford of
Loveblock Wines agrees with.
She is a fan of aged Sauvignon
Blanc, and admits to being
frustrated that our wines are
expected to be drunk young,
while old world wines aren’t
subjected to the same standards.
“People don’t expect old
world wines to be fresh vintage,
but New Zealand Sauvignon
must and it is quite frustrating.”
She says she has been
recently drinking some Kim
Crawford 2004 Sauvignons, and
describes them as “fantastic.”
Fifteen-year-old Sauvignon
is almost unheard of in New
Zealand, and certainly isn’t
something many people get
the chance to try. But Crawford
says the best wines change in the
bottle, for the better.
“My opinion is that just as
you bring in the new vintage,
the previous vintage wines start
to show a good balance and that
secondary flavour occurs. Wine
is a living thing in the bottle, it’s

68 //

not Coco Cola that you freeze
in time.
“You ge t t h at l ove ly
secondary development and
I like the fruit sweetness that
starts showing later. As we
age more and more, when
those secondary flavours start
happening, for me, that is when
it starts getting interesting.”
She says the aging process
tends to tone down the
aggressive acids that can occur
in fresh wines, allowing more
textured fruit flavours to
emerge.
Master of Wi ne B ob
Campbell agrees, admitting he
is a big fan of aged Sauvignon.
“I have had them back
20 years and they have been
great. At about two years of
age, Marlborough Sauvignon
starts to develop the beginning
of canned asparagus characters
and under screwcap, I think
that starts to kick in at about
five years. I think the use of
screwcaps opens the window (of
longevity) by two to two and a
half times.”
He says age helps lower the
“pungent, fresh, jump out of the
glass fruitiness”, and the wine
develops some interesting bottle
age characters.

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

In his wine education We made a rod for our
classes, Campbell says he
own back. Basically
gives students a young
Sauvignon Blanc and we trained the trade
one that is five or six that this is what it
years old, to show the
difference in flavour should be. Picked in
profiles. Interestingly, March or April, bottled
when the students vote
in May and out to the
on their preference –
the long-term majority market shortly after.
prefer the aged wine.
“When I drill down a
bit, I find those that are
enthusiastic about Sauvignon
“Winemakers have to hold
and would describe themselves back small amounts. It only
as a Sauvignon drinker, tend has to be a few cases, or out of
to prefer the younger wine. library stock to prove a point
Whereas others who are not that with the press, key customers,
fussed on Sauvignon, prefer it retailers and key influencers.
with a bit of bottle age.”
Let them experience bottle aged
It raises an interesting point. Sauvignon Blanc and then as
Maybe there is a different long as they believe and favour
segment of the market that New it, the message will get across.”
Zealand could be targeting, in
Crawford believes it will take
terms of our Sauvignon Blanc, a slow and steady approach to
if producers were to hold wines change attitudes.
back rather than release in the
“It is one restaurant at a
same year as vintage.
time and it has to start in the
While cash flow is an obvious restaurants. And it’s critical
reason wineries need to get their media articles showing that aged
wines onto shelves as soon as Sauvignon is different. We need
possible, there could be another to help people get over the idea
reason. Crawford believes the that it needs to be fresh, because
exponential love affair the world there is such beauty that comes
has had with Marlborough out later.”

Research Winery all go
EDUCATION, RESEARCH and
wine will all combine, when the
Bragato Research Institute (BRI)
builds its national Research
Winery at the Marlborough
Research Centre, next to the
NMIT campus.
“The Marlborough Research
Centre has been a key supporter
of our establishment from day
one and I’m pleased the vision
- to be co-located with key
research and industry organisations - will become reality.”
said MJ Loza, BRI’s CEO .
The Research Winery was
designed with input from a
broad project team including
winemakers, suppliers, expert
consultants and researchers
with experience operating other
research winery facilities. With
capacity for over 100 research
fermenters, the facility will

70 //

enable more of the industry’s
research trials to extend to
look at possible impacts on
finished wines. The Research
Winery will trial winery
equipment and technologies,
winemaking processes and
sustainable winemaking and
winery operations. It will also
provide commercial research
winemaking s er vices to
suppliers and industry.
“The establishment of a
world-leading, sustainable,
national Research Winery in
Marlborough will be a real
draw-card for the region and
the New Zealand wine industry
as a whole,” BRI Establishment
Manager Tracy Benge says. It
will encourage new research and
innovation as well as trialling
new technology and modelling
sustainability.

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

An architect’s rendition
of what the Research
Winery will look like.

The Research Winery will
be built as part of a larger
development including labs
and office space. Construction

is expected to commence within
the next month with the goal of
having the winery operational
for vintage 2020.

HAVING THE Bragato Research
Institute (BRI) and its new
research winery based next to
an educational provider in Marlborough, is a win-win for all concerned. That’s the view of the two
independent directors appointed
to the BRI board earlier this year.
Dr Bruce Campbell, who was
formerly the Chief Operating
Officer of Plant & Food, says it
is great to see providers such as
NMIT strongly partnered into
the Institute, along with other
providers.
“It will become a much more
seamless flow of acquisition of
knowledge and application into
industries very directly and
quickly,” he says. “The connecting up of skills and training
with research and development
is going to be a critical thing.”
Dr Dianne McCarthy agrees
saying the opportunity to showcase wine research to the students undertaking the Bachelor
of Viticulture and Winemaking
will provide a first-hand look at
what wine research is all about.
“I think the opportunity to
attract them to wine research
is very good.”
Both renowned scientists say
they have been impressed by the
rise of the New Zealand wine
industry and excited about how
BRI can further promote that
growth for the betterment of all.
“It is a fantastic example of
how you can evolve land use
here in New Zealand and move
to things that have a lighter footprint, are more sustainable for
the country and in particular
create a high value product
that provides good value and
returns,” Campbell says. “For
a long time I have had a huge

72 //

admiration for what the wine
industry is trying to achieve.”
He believes moving forward
the investment into innovation
and research will allow the
industry to take a longer view,
that will benefit other primary
industries.
“I think it can do that by taking a role in a partnership with
government and communities
to design the way land and the
primary sector can develop in
the future.”
McCarthy who has extensive
knowledge of the science funding environment in New Zealand says it will be important
in the next few years to secure
further funding to develop the
centre’s research impact and
capability.
“That is really going to
ensure the sustainability of the
wine industry in New Zealand.”
B o t h Mc C a r t h y a n d
Campbell are also keen to
see the wine industry and
research liaise more with
Maori communities. “I have
a very deep understanding
of Vision Matauranga and
perspectives on how we can
engage better with Maori
communities and Maori owned
businesses,” McCarthy says.
“There is a huge amount of
knowledge from Maori to
sustainability that will become
an important part of the way
the wine industry progresses,”
Campbell added. “I am
particularly interested in being
able to contribute to developing
the connection with Maori and
the Matauranga approaches in
the wine sector in the future.”
tessa.nicholson@me.com

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

Dr Bruce Campbell

Dr Dianne McCarthy

Agenda Events

Hawke’s Bay
Wine Auction
It is a Hawke’s Bay wine tradition, that goes back
to 1991, raising funds for a worthy cause,
Cranford Hospice.
Last year the Hawke’s Bay Wine Auction raised
$265,500, bringing the total raised in 28 years to
more than $3.3 million.
Getting behind the cause, the wine industry
comes to the party every year, donating rare
and unique offerings. Close to 40 wineries have
donated product for this year’s event and along
with a travel package and a work from artist
Mauricio Benega, there are 41 auction items up
for sale.
All the auction lots are available to view at
hawkesbaywineauction.co.nz, and the wine lots
will be available to preview at the Pre-tasting on
October 2. Tickets are now on sale for both the
Pre-tasting and the auction itself, but be aware,
they are limited.

THE WINE industry was never
Stuart Dudley’s first career
choice. The viticulturist for Villa
Maria Wines in Marlborough
had his mind set on research
or forensics, having completed
a degree in Genetics and Bio
Chemistry. But the best laid plans
as the saying goes, saw Dudley
change his career path at the age
of 25 to the world of wine.
Now 11 years later, he is one
of two New Zealanders to be
shortlisted for inclusion in the
new international Future 50
awards, launched by WSET and
IWSC, as part of their respective

74 //

50th anniversary celebrations.
Dudley and Nick Paulin
(Central Otago) were among
600 nominations for the awards,
which aim to unearth the wine
industry’s up and coming talent
on a global platform.
He isn’t too sure how to
describe how he feels about
making the shortlist. “I was
surprised and humbled, I
guess when I heard I had been
nominated and then heard I had
been shortlisted. I see so much
talent out there in the industry,
that it feels funny that it’s me on
the shortlist.”

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

With no idea how many
are on that shortlist, Dudley is
also unsure of just where two
viticulturists from New Zealand
will fit into the picture.
“It is a global competition,
and it is hard to know where
New Zealand sits within that,
and then where does viticulture
sit within that?
For those who know Dudley,
the accolade of becoming a
finalist, is not surprising. The
36-year-old has been a force
within the industry since he
completed his degree back in
2006. His first viticultural job

was with Delegat’s and within a
year his boss Bala had promoted
him to grower viticulturist. For
someone of his age, it was a huge
step forward, and not without its
challenges. Especially as his first
season in the role was 2008, a
year when Marlborough’s yields
blew out and created a number
of issues for the industry overall.
“That was a challenging
vintage in itself. Then we had
two to three years of really

changing the way people were
growing grapes,” Dudley says.
“Yield management became
really important, and a lot more
focus was placed on disease
management and fruit quality.
They were really good changes,
but it placed some real pressures
on the system.”
Being so young, when a lot
of the growers he was dealing
with had been involved in the
industry for years, was another
hurdle to overcome. He credits
Bala with helping him to cope
with the challenges.
“He would very much be one
of my important mentors. Not
only because of his knowledge
around viticulture, but the way
he deals with people. I learned
probably as much on that side
as I did viticulture.”
In 2011 he moved to Villa
Maria, as Marlborough’s
regional viticulturist. Again it
was a huge step, one he says he
felt out of his depth in, initially.
“I was going from a job
where I had Bala as my boss
and every now and then I had
seasonal workers, to one where
I suddenly had a staff of 25 and
I was responsible for a region. I
lost a lot of sleep.”
But again he had great
mentors, Sir George Fistonich
and Ollie Powrie, who gave him
the wherewithall to do the job,
learn and grow.
Looking back he says the
need to challenge himself has
helped form his personality.
“I like being challenged and
think whether you are stepping
outside of your comfort zone,
by choice or by being pushed,
it is good.”
As t h e B aye r You ng
Viticulturist of the Year in
2010, Dudley went on to take
out top honours in the Young
Horticulturist of the Year. He has
been instrumental in helping
organise the Marlborough
Young Vit competition and the
Nationals. Until last year he was
the Chair of the Marlborough
competition.

He is an advocate of
the importance the Young
Viticulturist is to those coming
into the industry. It provides a
chance to be challenged, and to
gain higher recognition.
“Winning both the young Vit
and the Young Horticulturist
were huge steps towards
recognition, but they also
broadened my horizons as to
what the industry was and how
big it was,” he says. “When I first
started (competing) there had
only been three years of the
competition, so there wasn’t
this long history of people who
had been involved. Now though,
you can see where people have
ended up and there are some
who have gone on to pretty high
honours.”
Dudley is one of those. In
his role as Deputy Chair of the
board of Wine Marlborough,
he is continuing to challenge
himself.
“I have an urge to be a part
of something that’s bigger than
the workplace,” he says. “Being a
part of an industry that is quite
dynamic is very rewarding.
“The industry has changed
since I began. In 2007 it was
almost a golden age, Sauvignon
Blanc was on the up, so it was
so positive. It is still positive,
but the industry is so much
more mature now, there is a lot
more structure to it and a lot
of different players on a larger
scale.”
As for the future, Dudley
says finding the talented and
educated people to make the
industry even stronger is going
to be one of the challenges
ahead. “We have the site, we
just need the people.”
Dudley and Paulin won’t
know if they have made the final
Future 50 until the organisers
make the announcement
in November this year. But
being among the finalists is
recognition of all they have
achieved so far in their careers.

One of the many
wetland areas Pernod
Ricard Winemakers
have planted among
their Marlborough
vineyards.

At the biennial Cawthron Marlborough Environment Awards,
Pernod Ricard Winemakers took out the Wine Industry’s top award.
Tessa Nicholson looks at why the judges were so impressed with the
company’s environmental ethos.
IT WAS a case of biodiversity
at its best, when the Cawthron
Marlborough Environment
Awards held their field day at
Pernod Ricard’s Brancott Estate.
Guests sat in front of one of the
many wetland plantings instigated by the company, while
birds flitted among the lacebarks,
flax and kowhai. Bees buzzed
happily around the guests and
the brilliant orange and red hues
of the vines behind, melded into
the backdrop of the Richmond
Ranges.
Wetland plantings are one
of the more obvious signs of
Pernod Ricard Winemakers’
commitment to the environ-

76 //

ment and sustainability in Marlborough – but it is far from the
only one.
One of the three judges at
this year’s awards, Matt Oliver
pointed out that the company
was actively challenging what
might be considered business as
usual, to come up with solutions
for environmental problems.
“They have come up with a
corporate social responsibility
ethos that goes from the top of
the management in France, all
the way down to the vine roots
here in this vineyard.”
With over 2000 hectares of
vines in the South Island alone,
Pernod Ricard Winemakers

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

have spent years getting to
where they are now, firstly with
a 2020 roadmap that challenged
everything the company undertook in terms of sustainability.
A 2030 roadmap has just been
announced that will see those
challenges extended even further.
Tony Robb, South Island
Operations Manager said they
have been “challenged by our
owners in France and by our
teams right here in the vineyards or the winery.”
For example, he said after
a suggestion from a vineyard
staff member, bird bangers are
no longer used in any Pernod

Ricard NZ vineyard, given
they use LPG, a non-renewable resource. They have been
replaced instead with netting
where needed.
A wine decanter centrifuge
has been purchased to deal with
filtering lees in the winery. In
the past more than 100 tonnes of
waste ended up going to landfill.
Robb says the decanter
meant all the material being
processed as lees was “recovered
to a higher quality level”. It was
then mixed with the grape marc
from vintage 2019.
“We returned this year,
just over 4000 tonnes of marc
back to our own vineyards,”

Robb said.
Pernod’s Nic Dann said for a
number of years they have been
measuring all related products
that contribute to greenhouse
gases. That led directly to the
company reducing the bottle
glass content. “So we now have
light weight glass in all our bottles.” There has been a 40 percent reduction in greenhouse
gas emissions in the past nine
years.
Reducing the use of diesel
has seen the company look to
multi row sprayers and “where
possible we are going to invest
in a fleet of recyclable spray
units.”
Also helping reduce the diesel usage, sheep are brought
into vineyards over the winter
months to cut down on mowing.
Other data that has helped
form sustainable moves, is monitoring what was being placed
in skips at both the winery and
vineyard level.

Pernod Ricard
Winemakers South
Island Operations
Manager Tony Robb.

“We found that 60 percent
of the winery skip was full of
plastic packaging from winery
additives and processing aides.
That was going to landfill, yet it
was recyclable.”
It was even more in the vineyard skips – 80 percent of the
rubbish was plastic packaging.
As a result, Pernod Ricard Winemakers are now challenging
suppliers to either reduce the
use of plastic or come up with
ways of recycling. Since 2015
the winery has achieved a waste

➤
➤

reduction of almost 47 percent,
with the goal being Zero Waste
to landfill by 2020
Broken wooden posts are a
nightmare for all grape growers. In the past, those posts have
ended up as landfill. Pernod
Richard Winemakers now use
only steel for new developments
and wooden post replacements.
The company has also
invested money and time into
developing 14 hectares of wetland plantings and are looking
to continue increasing that.

“Small plantings lead to bigger plantings,” Dann said. “We
want to add on, because we want
to see a bellbird, then we want
to see a tui, then we want to see
more than one of them.”
The lessons taught by Pernod
Ricard here in New Zealand,
could have a major impact on
the environment, if all wineries were to follow some of their
examples. Dann says there are
three lessons they have learned
in their sustainability journey.
Small changes go a long way.
“It’s about changing habits and
behavior.”
It’s important to involve your
people. “Everybody has a good
idea and acknowledging where
those ideas come from and
taking steps to put into action,
helps breed success.”
And finally, auditing provides you with data to measure
against. “Once you have a plan
and you have measurable data,
you can track success.”
tessa.nicholson@me.com

Spray Days are back!
SUSTAINABLE
WINEGROWING New
Zealand is bringing Spray
Days to a region near you this
August and September.
There are three workshops
available which are repeated
throughout the day.
Effective Undervine Weed
Management (2 Hours)
An interactive session
for those who make the
decisions on weed control
practices and chemical
choices.

WE WILL COVER:
• Different options for undervine weed management –
Pros, cons and combinations
of mowing, cultivation and
herbicide.
• Herbicide - What and when
to use, and how to get good

results.

HERBICIDE SPRAYER SETUP
AND CALIBRATION (2 HOURS)
Practical, hands-on
sessions designed for sprayer
operators. We will cover:
• How to choose the right
nozzles
• Nozzle position and
orientation

Grow your
career
Study viticulture and winemaking
in Marlborough, the heart of
New Zealand’s wine industry.

• Sprayer setup and
performance
• Herbicide mixing and tips
for getting the best results

MEALYBUG CONTROL (1HOUR)
An interactive session for
those who make the decisions
on mealybug control practices
and chemical choices.
We will cover the factors

impacting on successful
chemical control of mealy
bugs, including:
• Pre-harvest monitoring
• Chemical choice and
timing
• Chemical coverage and dose
If you have any questions, please
email Spray Days Coordinator Anna Lambourne at
spraydays@nzwine.com

James Vineyard Aerator
Removes soil compaction and lets oxygen
into the soil which helps release locked up
fertiliser. Aeration also helps with drainage.
The Aerator is also used for root
pruning which will produce new
feeder roots and
better production.

> Bachelor of Viticulture and Winemaking
Full time, part time and online
> Applied Viticulture
NZ Certificate in Horticulture Production
(Fruit Production)
> New Zealand Certificate in Cellar Operations

Quality grapes
deserve the
best care.
Behind every superb wine, there’s an entire year of
dedication in the vineyard to produce quality grapes.
So, you don’t want to take any chances. We work
closely with you to devise an integrated crop solution
for your specific conditions, covering every key stage
of the growing season. Our products are extensively
researched here in New Zealand and backed up by
thorough in-field technical support from our experts.
Most reassuringly, our solutions are proven to work,
season after season, for New Zealand viticulturalists.
For product information, growing guides, and
the tools you need to grow the perfect crop,
visit cropscience.bayer.co.nz

THE TERM Edelzwicker may
not be familiar to many New
Zealanders, but it has a long
and proud heritage that dates
back to 1644. The Alsatian term
can be explained, once the word
is broken down. Edel meaning
noble as in grape variety and
Zwicker meaning blend. The
ensuing wine is also referred to
as a Time Wine, given the grapes
within the blend are all picked on
the same day.
Philip Barber from Hawke’s
Bay’s Petane Wines has taken
this historic idea and is about
to release his first Edelzwicker,
which may be a first for this
country. While other wineries
have done similar releases made
up from blends, Barber believes

he may be the first to label his
wine with the ancient Alsatian
name.
The noble varieties he
has used within the blend
are Pinot Gris, Chardonnay,
Gewurztraminer and Viognier.
All the fruit was picked, as
stated on the same day – March
15, which Barber admits was a
very early pick for him.
“We hand-picked everything
and de-stemmed it back at the
winery – with the exception
of the five percent Viognier
which we kept as whole cluster.
They were left on skins for
seven days and once it was
almost dry we pressed it off
into a tank have left it there.”
No oak was used and the wine
Chris Scott, EIT Alumni & Winemaker, Church Road Winery with
Sanne Witteveen | Bachelor of Wine Science graduate
Elise Picot | Bachelor of Viticulture & Bachelor of Wine Science (Concurrent) student

New Degree for 2020
Bachelor of Viticulture and Wine Science*
Gain comprehensive skills and knowledge in both
Viticulture and Wine Science. Providing a strong
science foundation with practical application and
industry interaction, this 3 year degree has an
in-depth focus on growing grapes, making wine
and essential skills related to people management
and wine marketing. With the latest research,
industry technology and important issues related to
sustainability being key topics.

ENQUIRE
NOW!

You will get an opportunity to make your own wine,
work in a vineyard, complete a harvest internship,
develop a wine palate and gain practical skills like
tractor driving, first aid and a forklift license.
*Subject to approval & accreditation

80 //

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

THE EXPERIENCE YOU NEED
& THE SUPPORT TO SUCCEED
eit.ac.nz | 0800 22 55 348 |

was bottled on July 17.
When asked just why he was
looking back to history to create
a “new” style of wine, Barber
says he wanted to do something
different.
“Rosé is style that is all

about fun and I wanted to
do something that reflected

that. Last year I made a 100
percent Gewurztraminer
Rosé which sold out quickly.
So this year I decided to do
something a little different. I
had read about Edelzwicker
and it seemed like the perfect
style to ignite interest.”
Describing the wine as being
a very light pink, he believes
it will appeal to those that like
Rosé.
“It is low alcohol (11.3%) and
fresh fruit forward,” Barber says.
He describes the wine as having
nice acid, with a “real apricot
flavour.”
Petane Wines is situated in
the Esk Valley and the small
vineyard is made up of five
different blocks. While the
varieties are limited to only
aromatic whites, Chardonnay
and Viognier, Barber says he is
planting some Pinot Blanc and
some Gamay this winter.
“We want to keep our wines
in the aromatic stable, but we
are planting some red grapes so
we can do a skin fermented Pet
Nat.”

Irrigation
Intelligence
From Outer Space
Manna irrigation intelligence –
a sensor-free, software-based
solution that provides site-specific
irrigation recommendations at the
touch of a button, without the
hassle of in-ground sensors.
Weekly Recommendation
of water amount, for every
irrigation zone

THE BORDEAUX and Bordeaux Supérieur wine
producers’ syndicate grabbed the attention of wine
lovers when it announced that seven new grape
varieties had been approved in a desperate attempt
to cope with climate change. That’s like Rolls Royce
declaring it’s about to ‘future proof’ by releasing an
affordable, all-electric vehicle.
The mostly disease-resistant, heat-loving grape
varieties are:

RED

Touriga Nacional – Portugal’s finest red grape
widely used in port and in premium table wine.
Arinarnoa – A cross between Tannat and Cabernet
Sauvignon grown mainly in the LanguedocRoussillon area in southern Franc.
Castets – Produces deeply-coloured wine. Popular
in the late nineteenth century, there was only onehectare in France by 2008.
Marselan – A cross between Cabernet Sauvignon
and Grenache. Grown mainly in the Languedoc and
southern Rhone.

WHITE

MR GRUMPY
- PACKAGING PROBLEMS

IT’S PLEASING to see a massive switch away from polystyrene bottle boxes to the more environmentally friendly
cardboard equivalent. I still get a few polystyrene bottle
boxes but can successfully recycle them, together with my
carboard boxes, by passing them on to wine shops.
I acquired a large television a few months ago and tried
to dispose of the polystyrene packing by breaking it up
and putting it in my general rubbish wheelie bin. When I
retrieved the bin I discovered that the rubbish collector had
dumped my polystyrene packing back into the empty bin. I
guessed it was a prohibited item. There was no discussion.
The rubbish truck driver doesn’t look like the sort of person
who would bend the rules.
Next stop my local rubbish tip where they refused to take
my small amount of polystyrene packing.
Samsung is about to receive an anonymous carton containing broken bits of polystyrene.

82 //

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

Alvarinho – Widley grown (and revered) in northwest Spain and in Portugal.
Petit Manseng – Grown mainly in south-west
France, principal variety in Jurancon and Pacherenc
du Vic-Bilh appellations.
Liliorila – Cross between Baroque and Chardonnay.
Bred in 1956, there was only 4ha in France by 2008.
In a “softly, softly” approach growers will be
allowed to plant the new varieties on up to 5% of
their vineyard area and to add up to 10% to final
blends.
The previous list of permitted varieties in the
Bordeaux and Bordeaux Supérieur appellations
was more extensive than many people think.
Red varieties were Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot,
Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Malbec and
Carmenere. White varieties included Sauvignon
Blanc, Semillon, Muscadelle, Ugni Blanc and
Sauvignon Gris.
The prestige appellations such as Pauillac and
Saint-Émilion are not affected by the additional
varieties yet, but the announcement is sure to
have winemakers outside France reaching for their
copy of Wine Grapes and contacting their local
grapevine nursery.

Well done Marlborough!
THE REAL Review’s annual
Top Wineries of New Zealand
2019 list gave me the chance
to analyse the 170 successful
wineries and rank the regions.

Marlborough earned first
place with a total of 53 out of
170 wineries in our Annual
Top Wineries of New Zealand
2019 list. Marlborough is

home to 141 wineries giving it
a 37.5% achievement rating, a
few percentage points ahead of
Hawke’s Bay with Central Otago
in third place in percentage

WINERIES IN TOP WINERIES
OF NZ 2019

TOTAL WINERIES IN REGION *
(NZ WINEGROWERS)

% AGE OF WINERIES IN
TOP WINERIES OF NZ 2019

Marlborough

53

141

37.6%

Central Otago & Waitaki

39

136

28.7%

Hawke’s Bay

29

91

31.9%

REGION

terms or second by winery
numbers.
Here is my list of regions in
order of winery numbers.

Wairarapa

20

69

29%

Auckland/Northland

15

119

12.6%

North Canterbury

8

67

12%

Gisborne

3

17

17.6%

Nelson

2

38

5.2%

Waitaki Valley

1

4

25%

Waikato/BOP
TOTAL

-

10

-

170

692

25%

* From NZ Winegrowers Annual Report 2018

MATCHING CHEESE AND WINE
WHILE DESPERATELY trawling through
the Net for information needed to flesh
out a presentation on cheese and wine
matching, I came across a scholarly
work that stood head and shoulders
above the rest. It was a 5000-word article by Bronwen Bromberger and Francis
Percival that had been published in The
World of Fine Wine in 2007.
Rather than specify rules, the authors
attempt to outline the physical characteristics of wine and cheese in the hope
that it will help readers construct their
own matches.
Here are some of the key points raised
in the article.
Factors that determine the identity and characteristics of cheese are
its moisture content, salt content and
acidity.
Cheese tends to turn down the volume of red wine. That may not be a problem if you are drinking a “high-volume”
red wine because you might be perfectly
satisfied with a quieter red.
The fat and protein in cheese reduces
the astringency in red wine.
Unctuous cheeses like, Brie de Meaux,

have a fat content of around 23% while
a hard Cheddar has 32% fat. The higher
the fat content the more likely the cheese
is to mask tannins in red wine. Bottom
line: hard cheeses do a better job than
soft, creamy cheeses.
Salt is used as a preservative in
cheese. Blue cheeses, for example, are
very salty. Salt reacts adversely with
tannins. I get a metallic taste when I sip
a youthful Bordeaux with blue cheese
although softer, less astringent older
Bordeaux reds can work well.

The authors say “matching red wine to
cheese is only ever an exercise in damage control”. I admit it can be tricky. I
also admit to enjoying robust reds with
aged cheddar.
The high salt content of blue cheeses
makes a wonderful contrast with intense
sweetness. For proof try Roquefort and
Sauternes or port and stilton.
Rinds, which are formed by bacteria,
yeasts and moulds, fall into two categories: washed rinds and bloomy rinds.
Match washed rind cheeses with offdry to sweet Gewurztraminer. Bloomyrind cheeses are trickier. It’s worth trying
them with a rich and powerful Chardonnay. Don’t expect miracles.
The fact that Marlborough Sauvignon
Blanc goes well with Goats Cheese is
more to do with the body of the wine
than its acidity. “High moisture, soft,
fresh cheeses suit fresher, lighter style
wines.”
The final word should go to James
Halliday who once told me that Parmesan is the only cheese that improves
the taste of all wine. He may be onto
something.

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019 // 83

NZW News

Rate of levy under the
Wine (Grape Wine Levy)
Order 2016
PURSUANT TO clause 9 of
the Wine (Grape Wine Levy)
Order 2016, it was resolved at a
Board meeting of New Zealand
Winegrowers Incorporated on
27 June 2019 that the levy rate
to apply to sales of grape wine,
or the grape wine component
of grape wine products, from 1
July 2019 to 30 June 2020 be set
at the rate of 2.75 cents + GST
per litre.

RATE OF LEVY UNDER
THE COMMODITY LEVIES
(WINEGRAPES) ORDER 2016
Pursuant to clause 11

of the Commodity Levies
(Winegrapes) Order 2016, it
was resolved at a Board meeting
of New Zealand Winegrowers
Incorporated on 27 June 2019
that:
1. The levy rate on
winegrapes for the levy year
from 1 July 2019 to 30 June
2020 be set at the rate of 0.825%
+ GST as follows:
(a) for winegrapes sold
by or on behalf of the grower,
0.825% + GST of the farmgate price of the grapes (unless
paragraph (b) applies);
(b) f o r w i n e g r a p e s

exported by or on behalf of
the grower, 0.825% + GST of
the free on-board value of the
grapes;
(c) for winegrapes made
into grape juice or grape juice
concentrate that is sold or
exported, by or on behalf of
the grower, 0.825% + GST of
the notional price of the grapes.
2.
The notional price of
grapes made into grape juice
or grape juice concentrate
for the year 2019 vintage be
the 75% quartile price for the
region and variety concerned as
determined from the previous

vintage listed in the last
published version of the New
Zealand Winegrowers grape
price data for the previous
vintage (“Last Grape Price
Data”).
In the event that there are no
listings of the variety and region
concerned in the Last Grape
Price Data, the notional price
will be the 75% quartile price
for New Zealand for the variety
concerned, as determined by
the previous vintage listed in
the Last Grape Price Data.
Philip Gregan, Chief Executive
Officer, New Zealand Winegrowers
Incorporated.

WHEN SCIENTISTS Marilyn
Duxson and John Harris
purchased a small section near
Wanaka almost 20 years ago,
they planned to build a ski
holiday house to spend weekends
away from Dunedin.
But soon after, they received
a listing from their real estate
agent. It was for 67 acres (28
ha) of bare land, and included
half a kilometre of beautiful
Clutha river bank, for the same
price they’d just paid for their
quarter-acre upriver at Albert
Town. The block was located

86 //

at Tarras on Maori Point Road,
midway between Cromwell
and Wanaka, surrounded by
mountains, and had been on
the market for two years; it was
considered unproductive and
lacking fertility.
Their interest was kindled.
They recalled sipping wines,
surrounded by expansive
views across the Wairau river
plains, during a recent visit to
the Marlborough home of
friend John Forrest, who
had studied for his PhD in
neurophysiology in John’s

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

laboratory in the 1980’s.
“We looked at each other
and said what do we do? So
we phoned John Forrest and
he suggested we talk to Robin
Dicey.”
“We were two scientists
who loved being scientists
and teachers, but wanted our
own project that wasn’t in a
bureaucratic structure,” said
Marilyn.
Viticultural consultant Robin
Dicey confirmed, after kicking
the soil with his boot, that it
would indeed grow grapes.

The “Dicey Boot Test” may not
sound very scientific, but on the
strength of it John and Marilyn
sold the quarter-acre - and with
it any plans of a quiet retirement
- and Maori Point Vineyard was
born.
Tr a n s i t i o n i n g
to
winegrowing and winemaking
wasn’t so different from their
previous medical school
teaching careers, said Marilyn.
“If you’re trained as a scientist,
you have learned the way of
how to do new things. You do
a course, you learn from your

mistakes. It’s the same working
in the vineyard, you’re always
watching what happens, and
making lots of hypotheses…
“We are winegrowers, but
also scientists. We study the
land, weather, plants, animals,
and microbes that shape our
wines. While our understanding
is based on science, our
practices honour nature and
tradition: sustainable handbased viticulture, low yields,
small native yeast fermentations,
and natural winemaking.
“Lecturing is a performance
art ... you have to keep 300
students awake so you have to
put out a lot of energy. It’s not
that different to communicating
in the tasting room.”
When they were whacked
back by frost in 2003 which
killed 80 percent of their vines,
they didn’t even think about
not replanting. It was a tough
setback, a “summer in the
graveyard,” but they set up frost
fighting, sourced new plants,
and carried on. “We still had
our day jobs then,” said Marilyn.
Maori Point is surrounded
by mountains, which are snowcovered in winter and often
through summer. At 240
metres above sea level it’s dry
(400mm rainfall) and averages
1000 to 1300 growing degree
days.
The soils are derived
f rom w i nd - bl ow n l o e ss
over deep deposits of large
boulders dumped at the foot of
the Hawea glacier, 10,000 years
ago. Little has grown in the arid
environment since then.
“We are changing that, both
through our grape vines (which
unlike most crops can thrive in
this free-draining, low organic
content soil), and through our
plantings of native vegetation.”
In just a few years of tending
the vines, growing flowers
and aromatic plants between
the vine rows, mowing and
mulching, the soils have found
a new balance, changing colour
from pale sand to dark loam.

Marilyn Duxson and John
Harris, compelled to the world
of wine, after a life of science.

M e a n w h i l e J o h n’s
international career and
background in physiology,
m o l e c u l a r bi o l o g y a n d
microscopy led him naturally to
the winemaking side of things.
“I thought about doing the
EIT winemaking course. I got
the syllabus and read it, but then
I realised I’d done 80 percent of
it. And what the course didn’t
teach you was how to do things
in the winery. There’s some basic
things you don’t learn, like how
and when to clean a barrel.”
Early vintages were made at
other Central Otago wineries Vinpro and Aurum, and some
of the production was sold to
Elephant Hill in Hawke’s Bay for
a few years.
Co-winemaker Matt Evans
and his wife Maggie joined the
business three years ago.
“I’m the non-scientist on the
team,” said Matt, “but I really
like being around scientists.

“Maggie (wife) and I first
became aware of Maori Point
in 2010, when we came to
New Zealand on a scouting
trip,” said Matt.
Whilst
Maggie was looking at the PhD
programme in Neuroscience at
the University of Otago, Matt
was introduced to Marilyn.
Jo h n a n d Mat t n o w
collaborate to make the range
of artisan wines which includes
Pinot Noir, Pinot Noir Rosé,
Pinot Gris, Chardonnay,
Riesling, and the “Gold Digger”
frizzante Pinot Gris -made in
the Prosecco process - “an
insider drink,” says Marilyn –
hand bottled and in 330ml beer
bottles, hand labelled on-site,
and “famous in Wanaka.”
The property embraces 6.5ha
of vines, bountiful orchards and
vegetable gardens, and everincreasing native plantings
which are bringing birds back.
The winery, tasting room, highly

equipped laboratory and two
homes are powered by a newly
installed 20kW solar array.
There may not be too much
time for skiing in their lives, but
John and Marilyn did eventually
retire from their teaching jobs.
They love to share what they
enjoy - the wines, and the
special environment – with
their extended community of
customers and friends.
Half of their production is
now sold online through the
mailing list, or from the cellar
door. There’s the annual Maori
Point “Acoustic Picnic” in late
January, and talk of winemaker
dinners and concerts in the
barrel hall.
Those following Maori
Point’s social media earlier this
year could even watch the wild
yeasts at work, via an Instagram
feed from a microscope set up
in the barrel hall.
jean.grierson@nzsouth.co.nz

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019 // 87

Biosecurity Update

Winning the war?
BMSB in Georgia 2019
SOPHIE BADLAND

NEW ZEALAND Winegrowers
(NZW) was part of a small
delegation that recently visited
the beautiful country of Georgia,
in the Caucasus region between
Europe and Asia. Wine is
intrinsically woven throughout
the Georgian culture, with
historical evidence of winemaking dating back to 6000 BC.
In the capital city Tbilisi, the
statue Kartlis Deda (Mother of
Georgia) holds a bowl of wine in
one hand, to welcome her guests;
in the other is a sword for those
who come as enemies. Many
winemakers still use qvevri,
large clay pots for underground
fermentation and storage of

Biosecurity New Zealand has recently
released new rules for the importation
of vehicles, machinery, equipment
and sea containers, designed to keep
BMSB out of New Zealand.
wine. Grape marc is used to
make chacha, an eye-wateringly
strong distillate taken as a shot
with lunch, and grape juice left
over after harvest is mixed with
flour and walnuts to create the
Georgian candy, churchkhela.
T h e G e org i ans pr i d e

themselves on hospitality
and were the ultimate hosts,
ensuring that amongst a packed
work itinerary, we were able
to enjoy some of the unique
historical sites and cultural
experiences on offer. The
National Wine Museum was

well worth a visit, as was the
6th century monastery of Jvari,
the eastern hilltop village and
markets of Sighnaghi, and the
popular port city of Batumi on
the Black Sea coast. However,
this charming tourist experience
contrasts sharply with the
recent experience of the local
population in western Georgia,
where a brown marmorated
stink bug (BMSB) invasion
has been wreaking havoc since
2016.

THE SITUATION IN GEORGIA
“Georgia has been plagued
by this pest for three years
now. We just want it to be

Proud to be a
contributing sponsor to
Romeo Bragato

Flexible solutions for your winery
and vineyard buildings.

The appearance and maintenance of property
assets is a major concern for most businesses, and
our broad range of painting services can assist.
Our services include:
• Both kinds of interior and exterior painting projects.
• Long term maintenance painting programmes.
• Tank farm and stainless steel surfaces washing with
industry approved chemicals.
• Application of a range of finishes and heavy-duty
protective coatings.
• Access specialists.

over, so that we might once
again have time to focus on
other important issues for our
country.” Georgian Deputy
Minister for Agriculture, Giorgi
Khanishvili
BMSB was an unknown
entity to Georgia when it first
arrived three and a half years
ago, most likely via Abkhazia,
an autonomous region under
S oviet control. Western
Georgia must have seemed like
paradise for arriving BMSB. An
agricultural region with low pest
and disease pressure, farmers
traditionally did not need to use
chemical controls and so there
were thousands of hectares of
hazelnuts, corn, soybeans and
citrus for BMSB to feed on.
BMSB populations exploded.
Crops were devastated, and
it was a wetter than average
season to boot – BMSB damage
increased susceptibility to
fungal and bacterial disease.
Most farmers are not wealthy,
having small holdings of only
one or two hectares, and

they rely on their crops both
for income and to feed their
families. After a disastrous
harvest in 2016, they turned to
the government for help.
USAid, already working with
the Georgians on sustainable
agricultural programmes at
the time, were able to link them
with US and Italian experts
working on BMSB control.
These scientists provided
recommendations for a state
control programme, which
the Georgian government
implemented in 2017. 2019 is
the third year of the programme
and the cost for this season is
estimated to come in at $20
million USD.

THE STATE PROGRAMME
The state programme has
four main directions:
Monitoring - s ett ing
up sticky traps to collect
comprehensive data about
BMSB population levels
across the entire country.
These are regularly checked

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019 // 89

between March and October,
and information is fed into a
database the enable program
co-ordinators to prioritise areas
for treatment.
Management - the use
of pesticides, specifically
bifenthrin and deltamethrin,
to control and reduce BMSB
numbers. Pheromone lures
are used to draw BMSB to sites
that can then be sprayed with
insecticide to kill them in large
numbers. Heavily infested
villages are thermo-fogged with
deltamethrin at night.
Public awareness – active
communication to the Georgian
population, from government
right down to individual
farmers. Local councils,
medical professionals, plant
pathologists, industry and
growers’ associations, and
schools are all involved in the
communication of information.
Mainstream media coverage
and social media campaigns
are ongoing.

are not sustainable long-term,
nor desirable; there is a real
need for cost-effective, userfriendly and environmentally
sustainable alternatives in the
ongoing war against BMSB.

“Georgia has been plagued by this
pest for three years now. We just
want it to be over, so that we might
once again have time to focus
on other important issues for our
country.” Georgian Deputy Minister
for Agriculture, Giorgi Khanishvili.
Scientific research – looking
for biological control options,
such as parasitoids and bioorganic pesticides, which would
prevent the need for use of hard
chemistry.

FUTURE OUTLOOK
Three years after BMSB
arrived in Georgia, the
news seems positive. Early
indications this season are that
BMSB numbers have reduced
by as much as 30%. Farmers
who are making use of the
pesticides provided are seeing

much less damage to their
crops; those who haven’t been
using them are swiftly getting
on board. So far, BMSB have
not spread in large numbers to
the eastern regions, where most
vineyards are located and where
other pesticide programmes are
already well-established. The
government hopes to be able
to leave BMSB control solely in
the hands of the farmers within
the next few years. It is clear
however that a labour-intensive,
heavy pesticide programme and
the current costs of management

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN
NEW ZEALAND
Biosecurity New Zealand
has recently released new rules
for the importation of vehicles,
machinery, equipment and sea
containers, designed to keep
BMSB out of New Zealand.
If coming from high-risk
countries, this cargo must
now be treated offshore before
arrival in New Zealand. The list
of high-risk countries has also
been extended. NZW made a
submission in support of these
measures. The updated Import
Health Standards can be found
at https://www.biosecurity.
govt.nz/law-and-policy/
requirements/ihs-importhealth-standards/.
NZW chairs the Brown

We are proud to have designed and built
full-scale wineries for industry-leading
brands and played a key role in the
development of the New Zealand wine
industry.
+64 3 358 9185 apolloprojects.co.nz

CLIENTS INCLUDE:

90 //

Yealand’s Estate
Lion
Amisfield

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

Babich Wines
InDevin
Tantalus Winery

Wairau River Wines
Wither Hills
Poplar Grove Winery

Mar m or at e d St i n k Bu g
Council. The Council is made
up of MPI and other industry
organisations that have signed
the Brown Marmorated Stink
Bug Operational Agreement
and is focussed on improving
New Zealand’s readiness for
this most unwanted pest. In
August the Council is meeting
to plan the 2019/20 work
programme. It is highly likely
that this work will build on what
has been learned through the
trip to Georgia and focus on
improving our potential to look
for and eradicate this pest prior
to it becoming established.
BMSB is not present in New
Zealand. If you think you see
BMSB or anything else unusual in
the vineyard,
Catch It; Snap It; and Report It
to the Biosecurity NZ hotline on
0800 80 99 66, and get in touch
with the NZW Biosecurity team
(biosecurity@nzwine.com).

BMSB monitoring
site, sticky trap with
pheromone lure.

X-Wine
Cross Flow Filters

You requested eXcellence
We designed X-Wine
Visit us at
horst@viniquip.co.nz
Free Phone 0 800 284 647

aaron@viniquip.co.nz
Tel: +64 (0)6 8797799

www.viniquip.com
Fax: +64 (0)6 879 7736

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019 // 91

Industry News

How low can you go?
TESSA NICHOLSON

The stunning view of Silverton
farm where some of the
country’s most southern
grapes are planted.

THER E WAS a time when
Marlborough was considered
too cold to grow grapes. So was
Canterbury, Waitaki and Central
Otago. We now know those
assumptions were all wrong. So
why shouldn’t Southland be the
next big thing?
Brenda Stringer is the
senior vineyard operator for
Cloudy Bay in Central Otago
– so she knows a thing or two
about growing grapes in a cool
climate.
She is also off a Southland
farm, Silverton, which her
parents still own. It is this farm,
providing “some free land” that
has got her excited about grape
growing prospects.
The property is in Mossburn,
40 minutes from Te Anau, an
area Stringer describes as
being in the elbow between
Queenstown and Te Anau in
northern Southland.
Twenty years ago 3000
weather stations were placed

92 //

throughout the province,
looking at soils and climate
parameters that could be linked
with suitable cropping and land
use options. Silverton hosted
three of those. It is that data that
has got Stringer excited.
“It relates to a northern
aspect hill slope, which the data
came back saying was perfect
for growing apricots,” Stringer
says.
Well if you can grow apricots
– surely you can grow grapes
she thought. She describes the
site as free draining for cool air,
which will reduce the frost risk
and having a northern aspect
will attract the sun.
“So I have got a bit of
everything.”
So far she has planted 108
vines in what she describes as
a trial, but more could well be
on the way.
“I have the typical cool
climate Pinot Noir and
Chardonnay, Pinot Gris,

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

Brenda Stringer planting out
her 108 vines in Southland.

Sauvignon Blanc. I also have
Riesling, Gewurztraminer,
Syrah to be brave and Chenin
Blanc. There are a couple
of other varieties I would like
to get my hands on in the
future.”
It’s too soon to know how the
vines will thrive, as they were
only planted at Labour Weekend
last year. But Stringer is more

than optimistic.
“People said Central Otago
was too cold didn’t they. And
look at it now. There is all this
talk about climate change and
the effect it will have on grape
growing regions, so I figured
let’s start looking further south.
You have to be brave to be a
pioneer.”
tessa.nicholson@me.com

FLEXIBLE,
COMPACT,
EFFICIENT

A N D

A

F E N D T

FENDT 200 S3 SERIES

72 - 101 HP

There’s simply no contest for efficiency. Built like no
other, this high quality, high performance tractor
can be seamlessly guided through orchards or
vineyards with absolute precision. With technology
that outstrips any rival on the field the Fendt 200
S3 Series might be our be our smallest tractors
but they still pack a big punch.
Contact your local Fendt dealer
for more information.
TOTAL EFFICIENCY. ANYTIME. ANYWHERE.

COMPACT AND PACKED
FULL OF FEATURES.
MF 3700 SERIES 75 – 105 HP
Designed for ultimate efficiency and low cost of operation the MF 3700 Series helps you to get the job done on high value
speciality crops like orchards and vineyards. With dependable and straightforward technologies, these tractors combine
great visibility with next generation common rail engines and electronic hydraulic control. Run a tight ship in tight situations
with a compact unlike any other.

MASSEYFERGUSON.CO.NZ | FREECALL 0800 825 872

A world of experience. Working with you.

Visiting Expert

Volcanic
soils
and
wine
JOELLE THOMSON

John Szabo MS

94 //

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

IT’S FUNNY how one thing
leads to another when it comes
to volcanoes, says John Szabo,
a visiting expert on volcanic
wines and the first Canadian
to add the letters MS (Master Sommelier) to his name.
Szabo is visiting New Zealand
this year to delve into a discussion about the potential relevance of Auckland’s volcanically
derived soils and the impact they
may have on wine.

Auckland region.
“I was trying to celebrate
Auckland’s volcanic heritage,
with both food and wine and
as I did more research, I suddenly realised that the connection with the volcanoes has
been lost, so why not do some
research and see if there is a
story there.”
Szabo says volcanic soils are
not necessarily easy to define.
“There are plenty of regions
with mixed soils, and others with soils that have
only a tenuous connection to volcanic activity.
“There are plenty of
The flagships would be the
regions with mixed
places where no one quessoils, and others with tions the volcanic-ness of
the area, and where qualsoils that have only a ity is also exciting. There
are more than three, but
tenuous connection
right up there would be
to volcanic activity.”
Santorini, Etna, and the
Canary Islands, all three
still very much active volcanic regions where speThe trip is being funded by cial wines are made,” he says.
the New Zealand School of His own interest in volcanic
Food & Wine with assistance wines was first triggered when
from NZ Winegrowers.
he was asked to write a paraHis trip to New Zealand graph about his favourite wine
was triggered when he was for the holiday issue of a publitagged on a Facebook post cation he wrote for.
made by Celia Hay about her
“I started to consider lesser
Auckland wine tasting in 2018. known wines because all of the
The word volcanic was used popular bests had been taken. I
in the post and the rest is his- had recently been to places like
tory, so to speak. In late July Santorini, Etna, and northern
Szabo led two tastings on vol- Hungary, where I had found
canic wines at the New Zealand some fascinating, original
School of Food & Wine’s annual wines. It suddenly dawned on
W&F Celebration and he is now me that these far flung regions
touring the country.
were all linked by the volcanic
He is the author of Vol- origins of their soils. So that was
canic Wines, Salt Grit and it. My favorite wine grew on a
Power, a book that delves into volcano. That paragraph later
the origins of volcanic wine became a full-length article,
from Mount Etna in Sicily and which, many years later, become
the Spanish Canary Islands a book and lifelong fascination.”
to the Yamanashi region in Hay says her big question now
Japan, among other places. is how to enhance the profile
Celia Hay, founder and direc- of wines grown in the Aucktor of the NZ School of Food & land region since most of this
Wine, invited him because she region’s wineries are on volcaniis keen to investigate the poten- cally derived sedimentary rock.
tial relevance that volcanic soils Watch this space.
can have on wines grown in the mailme@joellethomson.com

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019 // 95

Technology Update

Ten wine apps for the future
LEE SUCKLING

Apps continue to
change the way we
do everything – wine
drinking, buying,
and selling included.
Here are the 10 most
innovative wine apps
out there that will go
the distance into the
future because they
leave out the trends,
gimmicks, and timewasting.
CELLARTRACKER
Wildly useful (although
poorly designed – it looks like
it was created in 1997), CellarTracker is like Facebook
for wine lovers. It’s an app for
tasting notes (amateur and professional) and personal wine
stories, covering three million
different wines from all over the
world. There are half a million
other oenophiles you can connect with out there and together
they’ve accumulated 8.4 million
tasting notes. There’s also a cellar management tool to track
your wine collection and see its
value – CellarTracker’s users are
currently managing 105.4 million bottles in their cellars.
cellartracker.com

VINOCELL
For a more aestheticallypleasing app experience, Vinocell is a dedicated wine storage
app. It has a cellar graphing tool,
enabling you to map the location of every wine you own so
you can find the bottle you want
every time, without pulling dozens of others out of position. It’s
a fun app to track the history
of your cellar (stored and gone
bottles), plus always have a full
wine summary of images, vintages and locations, varietals,

WINERYTALE
Augmented reality is set to
come to the wine market in 2020
with Winerytale, a virtual platform that auto-translates wine
labels into more than 100 languages. Developed by Australian tech company Third Aurora,
Winerytale has attracted over 80
applications from international
wine brands to participate in its
trials. The app itself is incredibly simple: you just place a
bottle in front of your phone’s
camera and wait for it to selftranslate a winery’s label with
augmented reality, video, text,
and 3D objects. Third Aurora
believes this will soon be the
“new standard”.

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

thirdaurora.com/self-translatingwine-labels

KNOW YOUR WINE
Decanter magazine’s Know
Your Wine is a “microlearning” app, similar to language
apps like Duolingo. It’s not quiz
software, but rather, short lessons that you can consume in
bite sizes. The app uses what is
known as “spaced repetition”
to teach you wine facts in short
bursts. While it is aimed at
average consumers, it is great
for professionals to use as an
educational brush-up.
decanter.com/learn/decanterlaunches-wine-learning-app

VIVINO AND DELECTABLE
Vivino is the largest virtual
wine community on the planet,
with 36 million users and counting. This app provides an exten-

sive wine knowledge experience.
Delectable, a very similar app,
does largely the same thing.
Both apps allow you to take a
photo of a wine label and it will
then identify it, and provide you
with ratings, price information,
and what your others in your
network are drinking. Vivino
allows you to buy the wine in
the app (although it’s a US-centric system and New Zealand
retailers only sometimes show
up), but Delectable has a slicker
and simpler interface. Try both
and see which you prefer.
vivino.com and delectable.com

VINOUS
Many professional wine
reviewers have their own apps,
but Venezuelan-American critic
Antonio Galloni’s app Vinous
is probably the best. Alongside
colleagues such as Stephen

Tanzer and Neal Martin, Galloni serves up a daily stream of
wine articles and reviews on the
Vinous app alongside videos,
wine region maps, and a searchable database of wines (including a label scanner, thanks to
Delectable wine data).
vinous.com

HELLOVINO AND WINESTEIN
HelloVino is yet another
wine rating app, but the feature really worth your time is
the food and ingredient pairing function. It’s the easiest
app out there to match a wine
with a food and acts as a virtual assistant. You can select
an option such as “burger with
cheese” and find which wines
will work best, or drill down
to individual spices or sauces
like cumin, ginger, and teriyaki.
HelloVino also allows you to
search the opposite way in the
wine guide: find a varietal, click
in, and you’ll be presented with
very specific foods (e.g. havarti

cheese, chicken croquettes) to
pair with it. WineStein does the
exact same thing, but also provides handy sommelier-quality
advice about drinking the wine
you are recommended, e.g. best
serving temperatures.
hellovino.com and winestein.com

PLONK
Plonk’s wine personality test
is surprisingly accurate. The app
asks you questions about your
diet, such as how salty you like
your food and whether you prefer coffee to tea. It then presents
you with recommendations,
including user photos, descriptions, ratings, and even a soundbite so you can pronounce the
wine’s name properly. There is
also a “wine moments” function
where you upload photos of you
enjoying wine with your friends,
and can tag them so the bottles
are never forgotten – it’s your
own personal gallery of good
times on the plonk.
plonk-app.co.uk

NEW

VINEYARD
EQUIPMENT

ROTARY VINE
TRIMMERS

LIFTING
YOUR
GAME
Ejects trimmings
away from vine

Unique design
sucks and cuts

Heavy duty and
adjustable

Specially designed to effectively
remove vegetation into adjacent rows.

Rotary blade creates suction,
drawing leaves into trimmer.

Single mast frame can be adjusted and
adapted to suit different vineyards and
provides excellent visibility.

Hydralada Trimmers are available in many configurations to suit every canopy style.
Designed and manufactured to trim fast and efficiently, these rotary trimmers allow
you to cover the ground without sacrificing the quality of the job.

BUILT TO LAST
AND DO A
QUALITY JOB.

0800 888 887 / hydralada.com / sales@hydralada.com

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019 // 97

Opinion Piece

Framingham Wines are not only renowned for
their music in the winery, but also that staff
members make up a local band.

The power of music in the winery
OLIVER STYLES

I WORKED my first vintage in
New Zealand in 2011, and if I
hear the songs Joey or Caroline
by the band Concrete Blonde I

am transported back to Martinborough Vineyards, late at night,
waiting for the press to finish.
Boxer by The National and the

Flight of the Conchords album
belong to Ata Rangi, the year
later. In fact, if not an album,
nearly every vintage has a song

or two that sticks in the mind,
situating the year.
Coming from vintages in
Europe, where the best one

SHEDS

greenwoodinfo.co.nz
98 //

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

Exclusive

agent
info@greenwoodinfo.co.nz

0800 347259

BIRD
NETTING
FREE ONSITE MEASURING!
NETS MADE TO SIZE
RECYCLING
NZ YOUNG VIT SPONSOR
Dean Shaw says;
“We’ve had people
resort to wearing
earmuffs,” regarding
the music played in
the Central Otago
Wine Company
winery.

could hope for was one of
those bulbous CD/radio players with built-in speakers and
the projection of an asthmatic
gerbil, making wine in New
Zealand, where stereo systems
were regularly bracketed to the
winery walls, was a revelation.
It may seem whimsical, but it is
an aspect of winemaking here
(and in much of the New World,
if not the Old as well) that has
fascinated me.
It is very easy to trivialise
the importance of music in the
winery. Indeed, when I tried to
explain to people that I wanted
to write a piece about how the
cellar stereo system helped people get through the day, they
seemed sceptical. It was either
viewed as unnecessary or, at
worst, whimsical. It’s the kind
of project a 14 year-old gives
themselves in order to talk
about their favourite music.
But music while you work has
very serious origins. The original show - actually called Music
While You Work - was first aired
in Britain in 1940 in a government bid to improve the output
of wartime factory work. It is

claimed (although I have not
come across solid evidence) that
output in the factories increased
by 13 percent while music was
being played. The music was
heavily controlled by the government: no waltzes, nothing
too slow, nothing too fast, nothing with handclaps (this, it was
felt, would encourage workers to
tap the objects they were working on, potentially damaging
them), and no jazz.
Making sure the music is
right is an outlook shared by
Te Awa winemaker - and one
time Dunedin Drum & Bass
DJ, Richard Painter, who thinks
music in the winery is “really
critical...but the key is to have
a high tempo, especially on the
nightshift. At 3am you don’t
want any really slow, depressing alt rock.”
But does it really help?
Nowadays, studies on music in
the workplace tend to be somewhat contradictory. However, it
is clear that music’s usefulness
depends on the task being performed - in wineries it is likely
beneficial to cellar work. Studies showing that music is not

beneficial generally concern
tasks requiring a certain level of
concentration and skill, whereas
in some instances, such as the
Harley-Davidson production
line, music has been banned
for health and safety reasons.
Cultural studies on workplace music can also get political, with some pointing to the
notion of state control and
attempts to milk productivity
from the workforce.
Others reach opposite conclusions. As Korczynski, Pickering and Robertson point out
in Rhythms of Labour: Music
at Work in Britain, while “the
outside observer or critic may
assume that music at work is
trivial...such a position was one
of cultural elitism.”
They quote a certain “Tony”
in a Midlands factory: “I need
the radio, bloody right. I
couldn’t face this place without
it.”
Which, if you ignore the
implied hatred of the workplace,

100 //

“We had a guy who liked to play
[North American] Country music.
He was banned from the stereo
quite quickly.”

mirrors what Dean Shaw of
Central Otago Wine Company
tells me. “I couldn’t do it without
music,” he says. “I don’t know
about the science, but loud
music helps [making wine].”
I got onto Shaw via Jen Parr
at Valli. “I can’t think of anyone
without some kind of sound system [in the region],” she said.
She told me Shaw has the best.
“We’ve had people resort to
wearing earmuffs,” Shaw says,
with what sounds, over the
phone, like pride. “When we
used to have the outdoor speakers we did receive some complaints from the neighbours.”

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

This is no small accomplishment in an industrial park, he
points out. Shaw has a vast
repository of albums - “about
forty days of music” - burned
onto a 3 Terabyte hard drive.
And there are rules: certain
bands are forbidden (e.g.Rage
Against the Machine), everyone
has a turn, and you never put
on a song, you have to listen to
an album all the way through.
Choice of music, though,
can be contentious. “We had a
guy who liked to play [North
American] Country music,” says
Painter, “he was banned from
the stereo quite quickly.”

As Parr said, “we learn a
lot about our team from the
music they choose, and about
ourselves - I don’t actually like
New Zealand country music.”
And sometimes music can
be transformative. A few years
ago, at Framingham cellar door,
the background music used to
be a reasonably generic Spotify
indie rock playlist. “You know
Andrew [Headley] - he’s a music
nut. And then we thought ‘sod
that, we know what we like’, said
Marketing Manager Bridget
Glackin.
They soon adopted some
of the heavier music that was
being heard in the winery and at
their vintage concerts. The cellar
door team - a set of respectable,
immaculately turned out ladies
- said the music was “terrible”.
“But they’ve really embraced
it,” says Glackin. “They said
‘bugger that’ to their formal
attire and started wearing punk
T-Shirts.”
oliverstyles@hotmail.com

Regions Marlborough

Unique and successful
Marlborough Grape Growers Cooperative is a unique model
that is proving highly successful in New Zealand’s largest
wine region, as Tessa Nicholson discovered.
FORMED BACK in 2012, after
a few tough years for growers
following the GFC, the Marlborough Grape Growers Cooperative has steadily grown in
strength. These days it has 77
grower Members, and processes
around 12,000 tonnes of fruit a
year. It has markets around the
world, and supplies only bespoke
Sauvignon Blanc.
GM Craig Howard says the
Cooperative structure while
unique in New Zealand, is not
in terms of the rest of the wine
world.
“If you look at the big producing countries like Italy,

France and Spain, there are
three tiers. You have the big
houses like say Pernod Ricard.
You have the artisanal producers at the other end. And smack
bang in the middle is a Cooperative.”
That is backed up by a Forbes
article a few years back that
stated 65 percent of independent growers in France belonged
to a Cooperative, with similar
stats relating to both Italy and
Spain. In Argentina, approximately 22 percent of growers are
part of a Cooperative.
In terms of Marlborough’s
Cooperative, the percentages

aren’t that high, but the business is continually growing,
Howard says.
The 77 Marlborough grower
Members, own 143 individual
blocks of Sauvignon Blanc, in
total around 800 hectares, producing approximately 12,000
tonnes annually. All this is run
with a staff of four, including
Howard.
While having growers on
board is vital for any Cooperative, having a market for the end
product is even more important.
Howard says that is part of the
reason for the Marlborough
Cooperative’s success – markets

We make
finished wine
we are really
proud of. We
don’t make bulk
wine. We make
bespoke wine.
So the wine we
make for the
Australians,
compared with
the wine we
make for the
French, or the
States, or the UK
is different.

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019 // 101

were well assured in advance of
the growers joining up. Initially
it was America, but in recent
years that has expanded into
other countries.
“We are selling fruit in six
different markets and I have a
long line of buyers coming to
visit in the next month looking
for quality and consistency in
supply into the future.”
Yet there is still a perception
with some in the industry, that
the Marlborough Grape Growers Cooperative is damaging the
Marlborough story.
“There is a perception that
we produce low quality wine
and then go out and flog it off.
That couldn’t be further from
the truth,” Howard says.
“We make finished wine we
are really proud of. A number
of awards for our Client’s wine
at International Wine shows is
testament to that.
“We don’t make bulk wine.
We make bespoke wine. So the
wine we make for the Australians, compared with the wine
we make for the French, or the
States, or the UK is different.
“Our business model is to

seek people who see value in
bespoke Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, offshore. We get
alongside them, understand
what their market wants and
then make the wine to their
specification.”
Part of the perception he
agrees may be due to the fact
the wine is sent offshore in bulk,
to be bottled in the country
importing. But he says, price
points for the end product prove
that it is not going into the two
buck chuck market, to coin a
phrase.
One of the Cooperative’s
buyer’s, has three tiers of Cooperative Sauvignon Blanc for
between US$10 and US$18.
If someone wants wine at a
price that doesn’t deliver value
back to the Members, the business is turned down. That has
happened on more than one
occasion Howard says.
Having positive returns benefits the growers, who Howard
says are invested in ensuring they provide the best fruit
possible. He says they don’t
go around waving a big stick
and telling their growers what

to do, but they do provide as
much information as possible
to ensure the fruit reaches the
specifications required.
“We go out of our way to
put on seminars, in fact we had
15 seminars and field walks in
the past 12 months. That makes
sure our growers are doing the
best job they can for the Cooperative, which gives Drew (Ellis,
the winemaker) the chance to
make the best quality wine he
can, which in turn allows me to
turn that into the most money
we possibly can to return to
growers.”
With Johnny McMillan filling a viticulture roll overseeing
77 growers and 143 blocks, the
Cooperative has employed the
services of Fruitfed monitoring
scouts, who visit every block
eight times a year to check on
the vines.
“We get their reports back
and then it is easy for Johnny to
triage who needs help and who
doesn’t.”
Given the success of Marlborough Grape Growers Cooperative, the question has to be
asked – why aren’t there similar

entities in other regions?
“To join a Cooperative, you
need to give up something,
some portion of independence. Grape growing in New
Zealand is full of entrepreneurial people or people who
like rowing their own boat.
Not everyone is prepared to
give up that independence.”
Another reason for the success
of Marlborough’s Cooperative,
is that the world wants Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc – and
New Zealand has yet to establish
the same demand for other varieties. Which is why at this stage
the Cooperative only produces
the one variety.
“We have done some strategic planning with KPMG and
part of the outcome was to base
our model on 100 percent Sauvignon now.
“Later, we will start weaving
in some Chardonnay and Pinot
Noir.
“It comes down to, what are
we good at? We are good at
growing and making bespoke
Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc,
so that’s what we do.”
tessa.nicholson@me.com

One of the many seminars held by Marlborough
Grape Growers Cooperative in the past 12
months was based around bird scaring – with
drones one of the highlights of the event.

WE ALL know in the winegrowing industry the importance
of having an effective Health,
Safety, Environment and Quality
(HSEQ) Management System in
place. A good practice system is:
• accessible for workers (i.e.
they can easily access the information they need);
• well maintained;
• user friendly (i.e. something workers can understand
and isn’t overly complex);
• functional, allowing for
information to be centralised,
managed through a systematic workflow and analysed for
measuring the effectiveness of
the process and identifying any
emerging trends.
The modern approaches for

HSEQ Management Systems
and general compliance
requirements have led to the
generation of a vast amount of
paperwork.
While the ‘paperwork’ often
gets inputted into an electronic
format of some kind, it leads to
a lot of administrative work and
in some cases duplication. On
top of that, you need to have
various forms readily available
to your vineyard workers and
contractors in the field, not just
the winery which, for some
workers, can present challenges.
You rely on workers having
the discipline to search for a
form, complete it and submit
it. This is sometimes seen as
‘too hard’ and from experience

certainly doesn’t always happen,
which unfortunately means the
business isn’t always informed
of its at risk opportunities.
Then comes the paperwork
shuffle following submission –
that important piece of paper
in the form of a hazard report
or quality control checklist can
get lost in its travels from the
vineyard, to the work vehicle,
to the supervisor and then to
the office.
Any of those scenarios sound
familiar?
The good news is, your
Health, Safety, Environment and
Quality Management doesn’t
need to be that difficult. By transitioning to a paperless HSEQ
software solution, you can sim-

ply and easily automate many of
these functions – making your
workers’ lives easier, ensuring
data is captured just once and
that the majority of your HSEQ
functional information is centralised in one place.
The investment in software
however is an important one
- best to get it right first time
and ensure the product fits your
business. Here’s what we recommend you look for:
• Centralised platform - for
all your event types (incidents,
near miss, hazards, inspections,
audits, meetings etc.) to be
raised and managed plus your
business risk register, document
library, people records, registers, etc.

Agriculture and Viticulture Machinery
Sales & Service Specialists

Bio-Dynamic product
line designed for fast
under vine management.
• Working speed up to
12 km/h
• Bio-Disc tills the soil
• Bio-Star works the
soil

South Island’s category 1 & 2
boutique wine label specialists
Our reputation has been built on serving
South Islanders for over 40 years.
From our Christchurch plant we have been
providing award winning, fully embellished
labels specifically for the South Island
boutique wine industry.

Talk to us today about our proven
innovative embellishments - True Highbuild,
Sculptured Foils & Arctic-Ice anti scuff
water resistant coatings.
• Mobile compatibility –
you want to ensure any worker
that has a smart phone and is
registered in the company’s
software system can benefit
from the solution. Stats show
that having mobile functionality
increases the company’s reporting number by nearly half!
• Local support – you will
want to learn more about the
solution and make it work for
you so having a local rep who
is accessible is vital.
• Risk register – capability to
link events to the risk, enabling
you to review controls, track the
hot spots and emerging trends
for HSEQ events.
• Document library - so
workers can access up to date
information anytime.
• Checklist development –
functionality for you to develop
your own checklists for workplace inspections, audits, product quality checks, etc.
• Built in registers – e.g.
equipment registers, approved
contractors’ registers - to ena-

ble scheduling of renewals and
checks.
• Real time trend analysis
– the most up-to-date data and
results
• Good reporting functionality - for instant measuring of
HSEQ management performance to ensure you are maintaining the preventative focus
you need to achieve your safety
objectives.
As the winegrowing industry matures its HSEQ management systems, we’ve seen how
paperless software solutions can
transform health and safety culture, by making all the standard
HSEQ management functions
easy to use and becoming just a
normal part of the way a business operates - which is how it
should be!
Boost your workplace HSEQ
management experience by
going paperless - good safety
software can make a world of
difference to your business.

(03) 546 8649

™

Contributed by
intesafety.co.nz

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019 // 105

Mechanical News

Latest machinery to hit
our shores
MARK DANIEL

CROPLANDS
QUANTUM
MIST SMART
SPRAYER
CROPLANDS’ QUANTUM
Mist™ sprayer technology has
been well known in the vineyard
crop protection arena for the past
two decades, so the arrival of the
new Smart Spray Series should
be welcomed by followers of the
brand.
With the support of parent
company Nufarm, two years
ago, Croplands set out to design
and build, what they describe as
“the best grape sprayer in the
world”. During the process, the
company consulted with global
business partners and industry
professionals to explore and
deliver the development of multiple new concepts.
One such partner, Jack Maljaars from Vinetech Equipment in Prosser, Washington
State and Croplands North
American distributor, played
an integral role in developing
the new Fusion Controller and
complementary hydraulic drive
system to drive the new Smart
Spray system.
Dr David Manktelow,
an independent scientist in
plant pathology and spraying
application based out of New
Zealand, was also engaged
for his insights into new and
emerging trends for pest and
disease control and his ability
to identify potential solutions
being sought by the project.
Prototype and in-field validation
testing were conducted while

106 //

working closely with Steven
Schiller, a progressive and
premium Barossa Valley
vigneron. This input provided
insights from an owner and
operator perspective to ensure
the new technology delivered
not only exceptional coverage
but was also user friendly and
simple to operate.
Specifically designed for
viticulture, the Fusion controller features a full colour touch
screen with integrated joystick
control, for sprayer and boom
functions management. The
controller also allows precision
row width settings and fan positioning from the cordon wire,
while upwind and downwind air
speed control can be achieved
with the touch of a button via
the combination of a unique
hydraulic system, ensuring the
right amount of air is delivered
to optimise spray efficacy and
drift containment in difficult or

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

exposed situations.
The new QM-420 fan produces even more turbulent,
directional air than its predecessor to penetrate the canopy
and deliver maximum coverage
to the crop. With the addition of
a uniquely designed Dual Spray
Ring (patent pending), flexible
spray rates are now achieved
without compromising on spray
quality.
The company comments
“customers are time poor and
don’t always change spray nozzles when they should. The new
dual spray ring design allows the
operator to apply a low, medium
or higher rate without changing nozzles, while potential
drift is reduced as spray quality
is maintained with a more consistent spray pressure.”
Fans are set in a newly
designed Fan Frame that allows
precise fan positioning and
adjustment during different

crop stages, to match the evolving canopy structure. Layouts
sees 2 or 3 fans per frame to suit
any trellis size or tractor specifications.
As a future part of the brief,
the company has developed an
optional, modular Drift Reduction and Recapture System, that
unlike dedicated recapture systems, is simple but effective,
with no moving parts. Inner,
or inner and outer “Smart
Screens” are easily attached to
reduce potential drift and return
captured spray back to the main
product tank.
The Recapture System makes
dormant spray applications
financially viable at high volume
water rate applications, such as
to control Mealy bug. The modular design can be removed later
in the season when the benefits
of recapture reduce, meaning
that spray coverage is never
compromised.

TEST RIG RAISES THE BAR ON ACCURACY
ACROSS AGRICULTURE, and particularly so in viticulture, sprayers play
an important part in dealing with
numerous problems, with the added
pressure of being used all year round.
Key to their efficacy, is the ability
to achieve an even application to
the whole plant or crop canopy at
the key target rate. Utilising multiple
nozzles, that are exposed to a multitude of elements and chemicals,
so it follows, that to achieve those
required target rates, sprayers, and
nozzles in particular, require regular
maintenance.
To test nozzles for accuracy
on farm or in the vineyard, is not
particularly easy, so in many cases
they will only get a visual check and
a “she’ll be right” pass mark. Realising this problem, Agrivit of Renwick,
Marlborough set about to design
and build a test rig to precising
measure output.
The testing service offered by the

company measures each nozzle’s
functionality, producing a report
that identifies those nozzles that
do not meet the industry recommended standard of +/- 10% of target, in doing so, identifying nozzles
that need replacing.
Configured to test a wide range
of nozzles, the test rig, claimed to
be the first of its type in New Zealand is said to be a cost-effective
method of maintenance, by only
recommending nozzles requiring a
change, rather than replacing a full
set.
Jeremy Watts of Agrivit notes
that nozzles wear at different rates,
depending on the material they are
constructed from and the types of
products being applied. He also
adds that while modern sprayers
have auto-rate controllers which
regulate spray volumes, they cannot
tell which nozzles are performing
properly, rather they can control the

THE NEW EUROPEAN

SPECIALIST

RES

THAT’S BIG ON FEATU
• All new models have the choice of
TTV or Powershift transmissions
• Market leading hydraulic system with
load sensing pumps for the most
demanding implements (up to 131 l/min)
• All new cabin design the most
spacious in its class with flat operator
platform for easier access gives you
more comfort and less stress
• New front support ensures an axle
steering angle up to 60 degrees
• Large selection of models available
ranging from 75 to 113 hp ensures
there will be a model to suit your
requirements

overall volume being applied. This
means that even when the correct
total volume has been applied, there
is a potential for some areas to be
under or indeed, overdosed. Nozzles
performing to accepted standards
will help ensure even coverage,
while also reducing the potential for
spray drift.

NEW 5D TTV COMING TO A
VINEYARD NEAR YOU
FOLLOWING ON from its
SAME cousin picking up
“Machine of the Year 2019” at the
SIMA show in Paris, the arrival
of the Deutz Fahr Series 5D
TTV will give specialised users
another choice in a competitive
market.
Featuring the SDF Group
FARMotion engine in 3 or
4-cylinder common -rail layouts and power ranging from 88
to 113hp, the units feature electronic control, charge air cooling, DOC exhaust gas treatment
and am eVisco cooling fan.
Engines are mated to a new
continuously variable transmission built in house by SDF,
offering infinite speeds between
0 to 40kph, with the ability to set
ground speed independently of
the tractor engine speed, while

108 //

also offering two ground speed
cruise control settings for working or headland situations. In
transport situations, 40kph is
achieved with only 1650rpm,
said to help achieve considerable fuel savings during operation.
At the business end of the
machine, the rear linkage
offers 2600kgs lift capacity and
can work in conjunction with a
front lift and PTO system that
offers 1500kgs. Rear linkage and
external hydraulic remotes are
fed by a 100l/minute closed centre hydraulic pump, that works
alongside a 42l/min unit that
takes care of the power steering system. Tractors can be
configured with up to 5 pairs of
remotes at the rear and a further
4 pairs of mid-mounted outlets.

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

Adjustable flow and time control is available on all remotes.

Up at the front of the tractor, operators can use automated

Look for black &
white banding on
the antennae

activation of the four-wheel
drive system, while the 100%
differential locks ensure the
best possible traction in all
conditions. The automatically
activated rear axle differential
is available for added traction
and stability, while four-wheel
braking is fitted as a standard.
In the newly designed cabin,
a flat floor enhances the space
available, while also offering
improved access.
Featuring a 4-post layout, a
rounded frame profile is gentle
on plants as it passes through
rows, the cab also meets all
standards to Class IV for driver
protection, removing the need
for PPE.
The InfoCenterPro, high-res
5” monitor provides the driver
with structured information on
all operating states of the tractor, while tractor and engine
speeds are shown on analogue
dials.
The operational controls for
activating the automatic functions, such as front axle suspension, Auto4WD and SDD
fast steering as well as the lever

for the hydraulic parking brake
(HPB) and a mobile phone
holder are located to the left and
right of the centrally mounted
InfoCenterPro display.
The new Maxcom joystick
is incorporated into the right
armrest, offering control for the
transmission and other commonly used functions.
Available in three different
versions, – the V model offers a
narrow machine for use in tight
spaces, the S offers a wider front
axle for enhanced turning and
greater stability, while the F
model is the widest configuration for best stability due to the
wider stance of the tractor.
The S Version can also be
optioned with front axle suspension offering independent
‘wheel’ suspension and active
steering.
The system operates based
on driving speed and steering
angle, using sensors to supply
data to the control unit, adapting shock absorber settings to
control stiffness and damping,
reducing vibration and increasing operator comfort.

KEEP NZ
STINK BUG
FREE THIS
WINTER
Look for black &

white banding on
The Brown Marmorated Stink Bug is a pest that
sides of the
can infest your home in the thousands, stinks when theabdomen
crushed, and is almost impossible to get rid of. It is
also a major threat to our fruit and vegetable industries.
It’s not in New Zealand yet, and we want to keep it that way.
It hibernates inside homes in the winter, so if you see one, don’t
kill it. Catch it, take a photo, and call us on 0800 80 99 66.

ASK PHIL and Carolyn McArthur where they see their new
wine brand ending up and
the answer is straightforward
and seemingly unambitious.
“Always small, always single
vineyard and sustainable.”
The single vineyard in ques-

tion is an eight-hectare patch of
dirt called Moy Hall on Puruatanga Road in Martinborough.
It’s a stretch of road affectionately known as the golden mile
in the relatively small Wairarapa
region – small for wine, that
is. This region accounts for a

miniscule one to two per cent of
this country’s wine production
each year, despite having at least
three per cent of the country’s
grapes.
The reliable wind does
its level best to decimate
fruit set, resulting in a reli-

Photo: Lucia Zanmonti

ably reduced crop each year.
The Moy Hall vineyard was
originally planted in 1990 in
Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris,
Riesling, Viognier, Pinot Noir
and Syrah, with some original
vines remaining today. The
newer vines are between 14 and
25 years old.
It was originally owned by
Lintz Estate and Martinborough
Vineyard.
The land has had a new
lease of life in the past 10
months, however, since the
McArthurs opened their cellar
door restaurant last December.
The plan is to have the facility open year round with chef
Jonathan Hobden creating seasonally inspired food from local
produce.
Phill also works as a
winemaker at Martinbor-

ough Vineyards and Carolyn runs their new business
with him. Both were born
and bred in the Wairarapa.
The purpose built cellar door
reflects the Scottish roots of the
Moy Hall name that they have
retained for their brand.
“The dream is to create wines
that are identifiable as coming
from our vineyard due to the
quality of fruit and consistent
winemaking practices,” says
Phill. The range in vine age
offers plenty of scope to him
for winemaking.
His ideology is to reflect the
single vineyard origin of the
grapes and seasonal flavours by
using traditional winemaking
practices with minimal handling of the fruit and minimal
intervention in the winery, he
says.
He and Carolyn purchased
the land in 2015 and made their
first vintage under the Moy Hall
label in 2017.

The McArthur family.

mailme@joellethomson.com

Emma Taylor | Nursery Viticulturist

P: 06 845 3186 or 021 412 953 | M: info@vineyardplants.co.nz

Supplier of quality vines, certified and tested
to the NZ Grafted Grapevine standard.

XB1801-3226_NZWinegrowersAD_vineyardplants.indd 3

17/01/18 12:29 PM
NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019 // 111

International News

Fifty years and still evolving
BACK IN 1969 what has become
one of the world’s most prestigious wine competitions was
launched. It had the name of
Club Oenologique. We all know
it now as the International Wine
and Spirits Competition, IWSC.
Now as the IWSC celebrates
its 50th anniversary, changes are
afoot. Taking the success of the
last five decades the organisation is preparing for the future.
Christelle Guibert, IWSC
Wine Director, says IWSC aims
to help producers not only promote their wines to the world,
but to help place them in front
of their target audience.
“We would like the IWSC
to be a platform to source
wine, a platform to have newly
launched wines rated by experts,
and to also allow discovery of
the unknown regions, countries
and grape varieties.”

Some of the upcoming
changes include a new judging
committee that will lead the
tasting days and oversee the
panel chairs and judges. Buyer
focused panels involving highprofile judges with experience
in commercial buying skills,
has been establisahed. They will
give the judging panels greater
objectivity of results.
The IWSC has also launched
its own consumer magazine,
named Club Oenologique in
recognition of the original name
of the competition.
Residing over all the changes
and the upcoming 50th celebrations, is new President of IWSC,
New Zealand’s Sir George
Fistonich.
In terms of this years’ competition, New Zealand’s entry
and payment deadline is August
23. Delivery deadline for con-

INDUSTRY NEWS
PROFILES

solidated shipping depots is
August 26. Deadline for direct
deliveries to the UK is September 6.

LATEST RESEARCH
REGIONAL UPDATES

Further information on the
competition, contact New Zealand
IWSC Ambassador, Jo Burzynska,
jo.burzynska@iwsc.net

MARKETING UPDATES
ARCHIVES

www.nzwinegrower.co.nz
112 //

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

International News

Is Brazil your next market?
IF THE answer to the question
above is yes, or even if you are
just considering the possibility, a
new event may be the marketing
tool you require. Provino, the
Professional Wine & Spirits Fair,
is being held in São Paulo, Brazil
over three days in October.
The event is aimed at attracting importers, distributors,
sommeliers and trade from
throughout Brazil and Latin
America. Like similar events
held around the world, this one
is not aimed at consumers, but
the trade itself.
Brazil is an interesting country when it comes to wine. It is
the largest within Latin America, with imports growing 29
percent between 2016 and
2017. Despite economic issues
in the country in recent years,
the wine sector was not affected
and growth is continuing.

With a population of 200
million, a growing middle and
higher income group and interest from millennials, the market
has potential for New Zealand
exporters. Maybe not as high
as in the US or Canada, but
certainly enough to warrant
promoting your product. The
population is not immune to
wine either, given imports from
Argentina, Italy, Portugal and
France are at all time highs.
Provino will take place from

15 – 17 October at Transamerica
Expo Centre. Fifteen thousand
visitors are expected with more
than 120 exhibitors. It is the

largest event of its kind in Latin
America.
For more information;
info@provino.com.br

Valtex Horticultural Products
A division of Ritex International Limited

Phase Two of the Overseas
Investment Act Reforms
IN APRIL 2019, the Government issued a consultation
document proposing options
for further reforms to the
current overseas investment
regime. Overseas investment
in New Zealand is governed
by the Overseas Investment Act 2005 (Act), which
requires certain investments
in New Zealand property and
business assets by ‘overseas persons’ must receive
consent prior to them being
concluded.
The first phase of recent
changes to the Act was in
2018 when the Government
simplified the process for
obtaining consent for certain investments in forestry,
while at the same time
restricting foreign investment in residential property.
A second phase of
reforms have now been
proposed. These reforms
are intended to reduce the
complexity of the Act, and
to better support overseas
investment in high-quality
productive assets, while
ensuring New Zealand’s
national interest are adequately protected.

AREAS OF REFORM

The proposed areas
of reform can be broadly
divided into three key areas:
What – this looks at what
assets overseas persons
need consent for in order to
own or control. Suggested

114 //

areas for consideration are
whether classifying land
as sensitive because of the
kind of land it adjoins is sensible, and whether the acquisition of leasehold interests
(for a term of three years or
more) should be treated differently from the acquisition
of freehold interests.
Who – this area looks
at the rules about who
needs to seek consent
to acquire sensitive
assets, and in particular
whether NZ-incorporated
companies with relatively
low levels of ownership by
overseas persons should
still be treated as an
overseas person (as they
can currently if overseas
persons own 25% or more
of their shares), and whether
low-risk transactions such
as minor increases in
shareholdings by overseas
persons require consent.
How – this looks at
the process for deciding
whether an overseas person
can buy sensitive assets.
One of the issues being
considered is the issue
with the “benefit to New
Zealand” test and how it
does not take into account
some important features
of an investment such as
whether it poses risks to
national security. Some
options proposed consider
introducing a “national interest test” or another type of

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

test that would allow a more
holistic assessment of an
investment’s likely effects.
Options for providing greater
certainty around timing of
decisions (an area of real
uncertainty for acquirers)
are also being proposed.

HOW MIGHT THESE REFORMS
AFFECT NEW ZEALAND WINE
GROWERS AND THE WINE
INDUSTRY?

In general terms, under
the current overseas investment regime, foreign investors or New Zealand wine
companies with 25 percent
or more foreign ownership
will need to obtain consent
before they can purchase
or lease (for a term more
than 3 years) horticultural or
other ‘non-urban’ land over
5 hectares. The costs, complexities, additional time and
uncertainties associated
with making an application
for consent under the current regime is problematic.
There is a real concern that
the current regime not only
operates in a manner that
may disincentivise foreign
investors from acquiring or
leasing horticultural land
from growers, but that in
some cases growers may
also be forced to accept a
less attractive offer from
a domestic investor as a
consequence.
Many of the proposed
reforms seek to address

some of these key issues,
and will accordingly
be welcomed by most
investors if adopted.
These include potentially
reducing uncertainties and
unnecessary compliance
costs on applicants,
reducing the types of
interests that will need
to be screened (such as
shorter term leasehold
interests), and providing
some greater certainty
around timing for consent
responses. On the other
hand, some of the proposed
reforms may create some
additional uncertainty in
certain sectors, such as
the possible introduction
of a right to ‘call-in’ certain
applications that may
propose a risk to national
security, public health or
safety (although this latter
category is less likely to be
immediately relevant in the
wine industry).

WHAT HAS HAPPENED AND
WHAT’S NEXT?

The Treasury held a
number of public meetings with stakeholders in
Auckland, Wellington and
Christchurch in May. Public
submissions on the consultation document closed on
24 May 2019. The Government has indicated that it
hopes to legislate the phase
two reforms by the middle
of 2020.

Research Updates

Research
Supplement
Information and updates on
Bragato Research Institute
research programmes.
Editors Dr Matias Kinzurik and Will Kerner, Research Programme Manager
A regular feature to inform industry people about research projects being undertaken for their benefit. Newly approved projects (when available)
are briefly summarised and longer reports will describe what has been achieved so far. When completed, each project will be reported in full
detail, with references, on nzwine.com

PROGRESS
REPORTS
Prevalence of grapevine trunk disease
in New Zealand – observations from
vineyard surveys
Mark Sosnowski1 and Dion Mundy2
1
South Australian Research & Development Institute
2
The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited
mark.sosnowski@sa.gov.au
16-102

EUTYPA AND botryosphaeria dieback (ED and BD)
are major grapevine trunk
diseases (GTD) worldwide,
causing significant yield
and quality reduction. They
threaten the sustainability
of the New Zealand wine
industry, with total exports
valued at $1.7 billion, and are
becoming more prevalent as
vineyards age.
Trunk pathogens infect
vines through pruning
wounds, colonise woody

116 //

tissue and cause dieback
of cordons and trunks,
observed as dark wedgeshaped tissue in cross-section. The Eutypa lata fungus
produces toxic metabolites
which are translocated
to the foliage, causing
stunted shoots, necrotic and
distorted leaves, reduced
bunch size and uneven
ripening.
In spring 2013, a survey
of vineyards was conducted in the Hawke’s Bay

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

and Marlborough regions,
which accounted for 80%
of the total area planted in
New Zealand. GTD symptoms were recorded in 8%
of all vines surveyed; the
average age of the vines
was 12 years. Survey data
were used to undertake a
cost/benefit analysis of
GTD management in New
Zealand, and indicated that
early adoption of management strategies will provide
the greatest future benefit,

estimated to be worth up to
$40m per annum nationally.
It was predicted that the
incidence of GTD symptoms
will increase as the vines
age, particularly if management strategies were not
implemented.
The survey was repeated
in spring 2018, revisiting
each of the original vineyards surveyed. The aim
was to track the progress of
GTD in the same vineyards
after 5 years, with reference

to regional, varietal, clonal
and rootstock differences
and the impacts of vineyard
management and intervention on disease control.

SURVEY

In 2013, 698 blocks in
Hawke’s Bay and Marlborough were initially selected
from vineyards made available from four major wine
companies to represent a
cross-section of varieties,
clones, rootstocks and ages

(from 4 years old). Of these,
95 blocks, aged between 8
and 25 years, were removed
between 2013 and 2018
for economic reasons, not
necessarily because of trunk
disease.
In Hawke’s Bay, 179 vineyard blocks were assessed,
ranging from 9 to 30 years
of age and included 18 varieties, with Chardonnay and
Merlot the most common. In
Marlborough, 423 vineyard
blocks were assessed, with

vines ranging from 9 to 38
years of age and included
10 varieties with Sauvignon
Blanc and Pinot Noir the
most common.
Two hundred vines in a
randomly selected section
of each block were visually

assessed for both GTD dieback and foliar symptoms
of ED. Symptoms classed
as ‘dieback’ consisted of
at least two dead spurs
or dead canes on at least
one side of a vine through
to completely dead vines.

Figure 3. Dieback symptoms on cane-pruned vines, with dead canes (left), unproductive head with only one
remaining shoot (middle) and trunk canker extending from a large wound (right)

The number of vines with
dieback or foliar symptoms
was counted and incidence
calculated.
In addition, details of age,
variety, clone, rootstock and
pruning management system were collected, as well
as information on whether
vines had been reworked
and if pruning wound
treatments were regularly
applied.
Data were analysed either
by linear regression, and
coefficients of determination (R2) were calculated
using Microsoft® Excel,
or by calculating means
and standard errors using
‘Statistix 8’ software and
plotted. Results are presented graphically as scatter plots and bar graphs,
indicating correlations and
standard error bars where
appropriate, or otherwise
are presented as raw data.

Figure 4. Scatter plot of vine age against incidence of dieback symptoms for all blocks surveyed in each
of the regions of Hawke’s Bay and Marlborough, in 2013 and 2018.

SYMPTOMS

Foliar symptoms characteristic of eutypa dieback
were observed in vineyards
of both regions (Figure
1 - previous page). Dieback symptoms were also
observed, which on cordon

118 //

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

Research Progress Reports

Figure 5. Incidence of dieback
for cane-pruned (blue bars)
and cordon-pruned (red bars)
vines of the main varieties
surveyed in 2018. The number
of blocks surveyed for
each variety (cane-pruned/
cordon-pruned) is shown in
parentheses, and the average
age of vineyards (years) is
indicated in white at the base
of each column. Bars represent
standard errors of the means.

In 2018, the average age
of all vineyards surveyed
was 17 years, compared
with an average of 12 years
in the 2013 survey. The
overall mean incidence
of dieback was 20.2% in
2018 compared with 8.1%
recorded in the same vines

in 2013. Foliar symptoms
were observed in 0.3% of
vines in 2018, compared
with 0.1% in 2013.
A scatter plot of vine age
against incidence of dieback
for all blocks is shown in
Figure 4. Only vineyards
surveyed in 2013 were
included in the 2018 survey,
so the youngest vines were
9 years old, and some of
these were recorded with up
to 13% incidence of dieback.
Overall, dieback incidence
varied greatly, with maximums ranging from 20% for
10-year-old vines to more
than 80% for 20-year-old
vines. Hawke’s Bay blocks
appeared to generally clus-

ter higher on the plot than
Marlborough blocks. Linear
trend lines indicated that
the incidence of dieback
increased with age, but was
only marginally greater on
average in Hawke’s Bay than
in Marlborough, and had relatively low correlation (R2 =
0.22–0.37) values because
of the large variation. Across
both regions, 31 vineyard
blocks were recorded with
more than 60% incidence of
dieback in 2018, compared
with only eight blocks in
2013.
Of the commonly planted
varieties, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Syrah and
Merlot had average inci-

dences of dieback ranging
from 31 to 43%. Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc,
Riesling, Gewurztraminer
and Pinot Noir had average incidences of dieback
symptoms ranging from
16 to 22%. Pinot Gris was
recorded with 10% incidence, but notably had the
lowest average age of 14
years, compared with 16–23
years for all other varieties.

EFFECT OF PRUNING
SYSTEM

In the 2018 survey, 473
blocks were cane-pruned
and had an average age of
17 years, compared with
129 that were cordon-

Figure 6. Examples of the effect of remedial surgery on incidence of dieback, comparing vines of the same variety and age, at the time of the
2013 and 2018 surveys, when reworking was undertaken between the two surveys.

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019 // 119

Research Progress Reports

pruned and had an average
age of 19 years. The average incidence of dieback
for cane-pruned vines was
17%, half that for vines
cordon-pruned (34%). The
greater average incidence
of dieback observed in
cordon-pruned vines compared with cane-pruned
vines, was particularly
evident for the varieties
Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Merlot (Figure
5). In Hawke’s Bay, 41% of
all vineyards surveyed were
cordon-pruned, compared
with 13% in Marlborough.

EFFECT OF CLONE AND
ROOTSTOCK

Average incidence of dieback varied between clones
of some varieties surveyed.
Clones of Cabernet Sauvignon ranged from 26–80%,
Merlot from 20–65%, Pinot
Noir from 2–21% and Chardonnay from 16–33%. The
average age of vineyards
representing each clone
ranged from 14–23 years.
Average incidence of
dieback also varied on some
varieties that were planted
on different rootstocks.
Sauvignon Blanc ranged
from 13–34% on different
rootstocks, Pinot Noir from
12–30%, Chardonnay from
11–42%, Pinot Gris from
7–20% and Merlot from
25–35%. The average age
of vineyards representing
different variety/rootstock
combinations ranged from
15–21 years.

CASE STUDY - REMEDIAL
SURGERY

A group of 14 blocks
that were reworked during
the 5-year period between
the 2013 and 2018 surveys were recorded with
decreases in dieback incidence of up to 60%, whereas
a group of 14 blocks, with
similar age, variety and

120 //

Figure 7. Scatter plots of the incidence of dieback in all blocks surveyed in 2018 (top) and the 102 blocks
(bottom) with active pruning wound protection management in place since 2006 in Hawke’s Bay and
Marlborough . Blue lines indicate the maximum dieback incidence for vines aged between 10 and 20
years.

location were recorded with
increases in dieback incidence up to 60%.
Figure 6 shows three
examples of comparisons
between individual blocks
of the same age and variety
that were either reworked
or not. For each example, in
2013 incidence of dieback
was similar in both blocks
before remedial surgery. For
blocks that were reworked
incidence of dieback was
reduced to between 1 and
4%, whereas blocks that
were not reworked, had
increased dieback incidence
of between 33 and 65%.

CASE STUDY - PRUNING
WOUND PROTECTION

A group of 102 blocks
were selected that had a
well-documented wound
protection management
programme in place since
2006. In all of these blocks,
large wounds (>25 mm)
were consistently covered
with registered wound
paints following pruning up
until 2012, and then from
2013, all wounds, regardless of size, were protected
each year. These blocks

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

were aged between 9 and
21 years in 2018, so vines
under 12 years of age have
had wound protection since
they were planted, and
the oldest vines have had
wound protection since 10
years of age. Figure 7 shows
scatter plots of the incidence of dieback infection
in 2018 for all vines (top),
and for the 102 blocks with
wound protection management programme (bottom).
Across all blocks, the maximum incidence of dieback
infection increased with
increasing vine age (from
20% in 10-year-old vines to
80% in 20-year-old vines),
whereas in the subset of
blocks under active wound
management the maximum
incidence of dieback infection did not increase with
vine age (up to 20% at all
ages).

DISCUSSION

In the 2013 survey, the
overall incidence of dieback
was 8% when the average
age of vines was 12 years,
and in 2018 the incidence in
the same blocks increased
to 20% when the average

age of vines was 17 years.
With the trend of increase
over the past 5 years, it
is reasonable to expect
that there will be a further
increase in incidence of
trunk disease symptoms
in this sample of vineyard
blocks in the future if management strategies are not
widely implemented.
The fungi that cause ED
and BD progress and kill
mature grapevine wood at
anywhere from 10 to 80
mm/year, depending on
the species and variety, so
it can take many years for
external dieback symptoms
to become visible. Similarly,
foliar symptoms of ED take
3 to 8 years to manifest
after infection has occurred.
Therefore the observation
of symptoms in vines as
young as 4 years of age in
these surveys, suggests
that infection may have
occurred in the first year of
vineyard production, and
highlights the importance
of early adoption of wound
protection.
Observations during
the 2018 survey, indicated
that Cabernet Sauvignon,

Research Progress Reports

Malbec, Syrah and Merlot
were the varieties most
susceptible to trunk disease.
Chardonnay, Sauvignon
Blanc, Riesling and Gewurztraminer were moderately
susceptible and Pinot Gris
and Pinot Noir were the
least susceptible. In general,
these results support previous research and surveys
on susceptibility of varieties to GTDs in other
countries. However,
exceptions to this
were Merlot, which
is widely reported
as tolerant to
trunk diseases,
and Sauvignon
Blanc, reported as
highly susceptible.
In the current survey,
Merlot blocks had an
average age of 19 years
and were predominantly
cordon-pruned, whereas
Sauvignon Blanc blocks had
an average age of 16 years
and were predominantly
cane-pruned. Cordonpruned vines are reported to
express more trunk disease
symptoms in vines under
20 years of age than canepruned vines, which may
explain the contradiction.
On the other hand, previous research reported that
Merlot cuttings developed
longer lesions than Sauvignon Blanc when inoculated
with BD pathogens in New
Zealand, so perhaps disease
susceptibility differs under
New Zealand conditions.
Incidence of dieback
symptoms was marginally greater in Hawke’s Bay
than in Marlborough. As the
average age of vineyards
in both regions was similar (17 years) and annual
rainfall is 700–800 mm/
year in both regions (www.
niwa.co.nz), the most likely
reason for the difference is
the greater use of cordon
pruning in Hawke’s Bay. It

was observed in this survey
that cordon-pruned vines
had a greater incidence of
dieback than cane-pruned
vines, particularly for Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay
and Merlot. In a French trial,
comparing cordon- and
cane-

pruning, it was reported that, at
the age of 10 years, foliar
symptoms of ED were
more prevalent in cordonpruned vines, but after 20
years, greater mortality was
reported in cane-pruned
vines. Therefore symptoms
are expected to be visible
earlier on cordon-pruned
vines, which have greater
numbers and surface areas
of pruning wounds than
cane-pruned vines. However,
large wounds located on
the crown of cane-pruned
vines can lead to trunk
infection, causing vine death
in mature vines with fewer
visible external symptoms.
Based on this knowledge, it
is anticipated that the incidence of dieback and death
of vines from trunk disease
will increase significantly in
Marlborough over the next 5
years, as it is predominated
with cane-pruned Sauvignon
Blanc.
Relationships between
vine age and incidence of

dieback were relatively low,
indicating that variables
other than age and variety
may affect the incidence of
trunk disease symptoms.
Clones and rootstocks
varied in incidence of
dieback, but results may
be confounded by age
differences and limited
numbers of representative blocks. Further
scientific investigation is required
to evaluate
commonly used
rootstocks,
which are
inoculated with
eutypa and
botryosphaeria
pathogens,
to determine
whether clones
and rootstocks vary
in susceptibility to trunk
disease. This information
could eventually provide
decision support for new
plantings, which may
reduce the impact of GTD
for vineyard longevity.
The case study for
remedial surgery revealed
short-term success of this
strategy. It will be important
to continue following the
progress of these blocks
in future to confirm longerterm success of remedial
surgery. Many factors can
affect the success of remedial surgery, and if all visible
disease is not removed from
trunks, life expectancy will
be limited. New research is
commencing as part of the
Vineyard Ecosystems programme to further evaluate
remedial surgery, including
attempting to gain a better
understanding of how disease progresses in trunks
to better inform the industry
on appropriate timing so as
to maximise success and, in
turn, vineyard longevity.
The case study for
pruning wound protection

provides some confirmation
on the effect of protecting
pruning wounds in the vineyard. A recently completed
project (NZW 13-100) developed practical and efficient
methods for the protection
of pruning wounds against
infection by identifying
effective fungicides that
can be applied with tractordriven sprayers. If this
became a routine practice
in New Zealand vineyards
it has the potential to save
$20 million each year, and
furthermore, with the use
of remedial surgery could
save a further $20 million
annually.
It is recommended that
this survey be repeated in 5
years to continue monitoring the disease incidence
and impact of management
strategies. New vineyard
blocks should be added to
the current list of vineyards
surveyed in 2013 and 2018,
to represent a spectrum of
vineyard ages and assess
the levels of disease in
young vineyards. Furthermore, a targeted survey on
vineyards under active management for GTDs may further confirm the success of
remedial surgery and wound
protection strategies.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This survey was made
possible by funding from the
Bragato Research Institute
as part of the Vineyard Ecosystems programme, which
is supported by the Ministry
of Business, Innovation and
Employment. The authors
wish to acknowledge Matthew Ayres and Rebecca
Woolley for assistance with
the surveys. We also thank
Villa Maria, Pernod-Ricard
NZ, Delegats and Constellation Brands for providing
access to and detailed information on vineyards.
nzwine.com

INTRINSIC QUALITY is
an abstract but important
attribute of foods and beverages for both aesthetic and
economic reasons. However, what is quality? More
pertinently, what is quality in
wine? Is it that outside of a
wine being fault-free, perception of quality is largely a
subjective matter such that
every judgment has validity as some argue it does
in other areas of aesthetic
assessment (e.g., in the
world of fine art)? Or, can
we adopt a more objective
stance regarding perception
of wine quality, assuming
that external norms (e.g.,
flavour intensity; balance;
harmony of components)
exist and comprise a standard against which a wine can
be judged? In the research
described in this article,
we have taken a scientific
approach to investigate
wine quality, arguing that
perception of intrinsic quality
is a sensory and cognitive
process, with perceived quality a concept that attempts
to bridge the space between
objective characteristics of a
product and a taster’s appreciation of that same product.

122 //

The New Zealand (NZ)
Ministry for Business,
Innovation and Employment
(MBIE), in collaboration with
New Zealand Winegrowers,
has funded a multidisciplinary, inter-institutional
research programme
investigating Pinot Noir.
This research programme
includes a wine sensory
project aimed at shedding
light on the somewhat
elusive concept of quality in
Pinot noir wine. Over the last
18 months, a collaborating
team of scientists and wine
industry professionals has
been attempting to delineate the nature of perceived
quality in New Zealand Pinot
Noir as judged by wine professionals. Our first point of
focus concerned unravelling
the wine attributes perceived as important to, even
essential to, a quality Pinot
Noir wine.
Pinot Noir, considered
one of the world’s fine
wines, offers a sensorial
experience beyond just
primary flavours, this experience giving rise to textural
descriptions such as “an
iron fist in a silk glove”.
Therefore our research

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

focused on both flavour and
textural qualities anecdotally considered important
in Pinot Noir wine. We also
investigated more abstract
concepts including perceived complexity, elegance,
varietal typicality and familiarity of a wine to the taster,
and the relationship of these
abstract attributes to judgments of overall quality. A
further aim was to consider
if perceived wine quality was
associated significantly with
extrinsic factors of NZ wine
region, method of production, vine yield, wine vintage,
and wine retail price.

WHAT HAVE WE DONE SO
FAR?

We invited New Zealand
wine professionals based in
Marlborough to assess New
Zealand Pinot Noir wines in
two experimental tastings,
one in November 2018 and
a second in June, 2019.
Both tastings employed the
same 18 wines, the wines
having been pre-selected at
an earlier date by a panel
of experienced wine professionals to exemplify the
wide range of Pinot Noir
wine currently produced in

New Zealand and available
to consumers and the international market. The current
article describes outcomes
from the first experimental
tasting only. The second
tasting focused specifically on in-mouth aspects
(i.e., tastes and mouthfeel
qualities) of the Pinot Noir
wines and these data will be
reported at a future time.
In the first tasting, 22
wine professionals judged
the 18 Pinot Noir wines on
20 selected sensory attributes (see Table 1). Each
wine was assessed twice,
once in clear wine glasses
and once in opaque (black)
glassware. The wine qualities selected for rating were
considered varietally important to Pinot Noir wine (e.g.,
tannin harshness; aromatic
qualities) and/or known
to influence perception,
judgement, and purchase
behaviour related to food
and beverage products (e.g.,
familiarity). After completing
this attribute-rating task, the
22 tasters assessed each
wine on an 8-item, Perceived
Complexity Questionnaire.
Influence of wine colour,
considered a particularly

Research Progress Reports

relevant factor in Pinot Noir
wine due to lower concentrations of anthocyanins
and tannins relative to other
red wines, was investigated
indirectly by the clear versus
black glassware manipulation. The black glassware
inhibited ability of a taster
to see a wine’s colour, and
provided a tasting context
where the taster’s smell,
taste and mouthfeel judgments were unlikely to be
influenced (i.e., biased)
by a wine’s colour. Finally,
we considered influence
of extrinsic, viniviticultural
factors of New Zealand wine
region (Wairarapa; Marlborough; Nelson; North Canterbury; Central Otago), vintage
(2016; 2013), wine price
(commercial = < $30.00;
premium = >$30), vine yield
(< or > than 2 kg/vine),
and means of production
(conventional or in transition; organic/biodynamic
certified).
Major results of the study
to date include the following. First, the 18 wines (RRP
= NZ$13.00 - NZ$140) differed significantly in terms
of both perceived quality
and perceived complexity, with these two attributes positively correlated
for most wines. Second,
specific attributes driving
judgments of perceived
quality were largely positive
associations and included
attractive fruit aromatics,
attractive floral aromatics,
freshness, expressiveness,
fruit ripeness, oak influence,
overall structure, concentration in mouth, and balanced
acidity. Negative predictors of quality were green/
herbaceous and reductive
notes. Global wine factors
of varietal typicality, familiarity, elegance/precision and
complexity were closely
associated with judgments
of a wine’s overall quality.

Table 1: Wine attributes assessed in the 18 Pinot Noir wines

DESCRIPTORS

PERCEIVED COMPLEXITY ATTRIBUTES

INTENSITY DESCRIPTORS
Attractive fruit aromatics

How familiar are you with this wine?

Attractive floral aromatics

How many flavours can you identify with this wine?

Earthy/mushroom notes

How easy is it to identify or describe the different flavours?

Reductive notes

Are the different sensations and flavours harmonious?

Bitterness

Are the different sensations and flavours well balanced?

Astringency

How long do the different sensations and flavours linger in
your mouth?

Attributes that did not show
a significant relationship
with overall quality were
the taste of bitterness and
the trigeminal nerve effects
of astringency and harshness of tannins. This null
result is most likely due to
large differences amongst
tasters in rating these
in-mouth attributes, rather
than suggests that these
attributes are not of extreme
importance to judgments
of Pinot noir quality. We
have followed this up in our
subsequent experiment, and
these data will be reported
in due course.
In terms of viniviticultural
factors, there were few sig-

nificant effects, most likely
due to the low numbers of
wines in some categories
(e.g., in each wine region),
and the variability of wines
within a region. Of importance, the green/herbaceous attribute associated
statistically with factors of
wine region, price, vine yield
and production philosophy
where it tended to score
higher in Wairarapa wines
or in conventional philosophy wines. Wine price/
vine yield (higher price; low
vine yield) also associated
positively with several wine
attributes that were demonstrated in our sensory data
to be important to Pinot

noir perceived quality (e.g.,
attractive floral aromatics). In terms of vintage
effects, green/herbaceous,
astringency, bitterness, and
harshness of tannins were
judged significantly higher in
two of the three 2013 wines
relative to the 2016 wines
from the same producer.
The final result we report
here concerns influence of
colour; observing a wine’s
colour does not appear
to be the major driver of
Pinot Noir chemosensory
judgments (smell; taste;
mouthfeel) by wine professionals. This is in agreement
with our prior, published
work involving New Zealand

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019 // 123

Research Progress Reports

and Burgundy Pinot Noir
wines and New Zealand
and French tasters. However, results did show some
effects, notably that many
positive attributes of Pinot
Noir wine (e.g., aromatic
intensity; silkiness) were
judged higher in the clear
glass condition than when
a taster could not see the
wine’s colour. In an attempt
to better understand the
colour effects in the present
study, i.e., the influence of
tasting glass colour (clear/
dark), we associated our
judgments of perceived
quality to the 18 wines with
wine colour instrumental
(UV-Spectrophotometer)
measures of colour density and hue that were
undertaken by Auckland
University researchers in the
NZW-led Pinot Noir research
programme. The combined
sensory-instrumental data
analysis suggests that influence of a wine’s colour was
most prominent for wines at
the lower end of the perceived quality spectrum. For
these wines, colour density
(depth of colour) and hue
(e.g., red/blue – brick/
browning) both influenced
judgments shown in our
sensory data as important
to Pinot Noir perceived
quality (e.g., freshness;
attractive aromatics). In due
course, our sensory data
will be associated with other
relevant wine physico-chemical data, notably aroma
chemistry and phenolic
analyses.
In conclusion, our work to
date has provided evidence
that particular chemosensory attributes, not least
those subsumed within the
umbrella concept of varietal
typicality, are important
drivers of perceived quality
in Pinot noir wine. In collaboration with chemistry
colleagues, we have also

124 //

provided evidence that a
wine’s colour density and
hue (e.g., browning) may be
used by wine professionals as a cue, influencing
smell, taste and mouthfeel
phenomena, in particular
when judging wines at the
lower end of the perceived
quality spectrum. In terms
of practical implications,
the demonstrated associations of wine price/vine yield
and perceived quality, an

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

inverse relation between the
green/herbaceous note and
perceived quality, and the
positive relation between
the green/herbaceous note
and conventional production
methods, all provide a starting point for industry members to consider. From an
oenological perspective, our
data show the importance
of freshness, attractive
floral and fruit aromatics,
expressiveness, fruit ripe-

ness, and overall structure
to a quality Pinot noir, and a
clear negative association
with sulphide reduction and
green notes.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

We thank the Marlborough wine professionals
who participated in the
experimental tasting, and
producers of wines included
in the study.
nzwine.com

A major goal of the current Pinot Noir research is
to optimise yield and quality
with respect to vineyard
management practices.
The so-called “yield/quality seesaw” has become an
important focus due to the
apparent trade-off between
these two production
parameters.
Attempts to maximise
one (vine yield, for example),
often leads to less than
desirable impacts on the
other (grape quality).
An ideal result would
be for viticulturists and
winemakers to target an
appropriate yield in the vineyard and have confidence in
their management practices
to deliver quality fruit for an
exceptional wine product.
When it comes to Pinot
noir, optimising the yieldquality seesaw is of interest
as production costs for this
variety can be higher than
others.
Step changes in agriculture and the ability to deliver
outstanding outcomes,
comes from the generation
and sharing of new models
and concepts. This is where
the role of research comes
in. The transfer of concise
information backed by evidence-based investigations
are key to this. Industry
participants and individual
vineyards are then very
capable of deciding themselves, whether or not these
“new ideas” can be benefi-

Figure 1. The majority of a grapevines photosynthesis and nitrogen assimilation occurs in the leaves,
the products of which (sugars and amino acids, for example) are exported to the surrounding sinks. In
the grape berries themselves, significant modification of these primary metabolites produce important
secondary (quality) compounds.

cial to their own vineyard
management strategies.

THE GRAPEVINES
GROWING STRATEGY

From a production
perspective, we first tend
to think of grapevines as
the suppliers of the raw
materials (grapes) for winemaking. But ultimately, from
a plant biology point of view
it is important to consider a
leaf, or grape, or any other
grapevine tissues in terms
of their requisite biological functions. Therefore, a
comprehensive understanding of a plant’s strategy, - the
trade-off between production (yield) and protection
(defence which results
in changes in secondary
metabolism) - is the key to

understanding and then
potentially modulating yield
and quality components.
Plant metabolic pathways are directed by leaves
which are the ‘source’ of
primary and secondary
compounds; bunches act as
key ‘sinks’ in the grapevine
which depend on the production of metabolites from
source leaves. The grapevine also has other competing sinks that may draw
upon these metabolites and
include the roots, shoot tips,
young leaves, and lateral
shoots, leaves, maturing
canes and perennial wood.
We additionally need to go
beyond thinking about the
above ground components
of the source-sink impact on
metabolism and also con-

sider vine balance, whereby
the root system may play a
role.
Grape berries are ultimately the next generation
(the embryos in the seeds)
of the grapevine, with
the ripening berry there
to ensure that reproductive growth is successful.
Additionally, as the grapevine is a perennial woody
plant, during the winter
(dormant) season, the vine
is wholly dependent on
stored reserves of carbohydrate (sugars), which are
mobilised for early shoot
and leaf development in the
new growing season. These
biological facts are well
illustrated when following
the movement of sugars in
the different plant organs,

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019 // 125

Research Progress Reports

in carbohydrate partitioning
experiments for example.

THE RESEARCH
STRATEGY

Taking into account the
grapevines developmental
strategy, it is clearly apparent that major biochemical
factors should be central
to our research approach.
The regulation of primary
metabolites (sugars, amino
acids) is directed by photosynthesis and nitrogen
metabolism processes, and
can be seen as the driver of
quantity (yield). The regulation of secondary metabolism (anthocyanins, phenolic
compounds) is tightly
coupled to primary metabolism (amino acids are
precursors to a multitude of
secondary metabolites), and
simplistically speaking, can
be thought of as the key to
quality aspects.
Therefore, addressing
this concept of yield vs
quality is a key component
in the recent Pinot Noir programme and has generated
several specific avenues of
viticulture-relevant research
that we are undertaking at
Lincoln University. These
key objectives of the programme investigate factors
that regulate yield and berry
quality of Pinot noir production:
• To examine how yield
and quality may be influenced by viticulture practices that modify competing
sinks and LA:FW ratios.
• To examine how variations in bunch microclimate
through changes in light and
temperature, regulate grape
berry biochemistry.
Generally, grapevines are
in a vineyard ecosystem in
which vine development and
grape ripening are influenced by the soil and environment surrounding the
vine. This can be a challeng-

ing experimental system
to work under, being at “the
mercy of the elements”. We
are therefore using a potted
vine system for experiments, whereby, depending
of the conditions required,
environmental parameters
(light, temperature, soil
texture) and source- sink
components (root volume,
leaf area to fruit weight
ratio) can be accurately
controlled through the use
of plant growth chambers
and greenhouses.
The first years of trials have been carried out
where the competing sink
of root volume was manipulated by changing the pot
size. Data was collected
regarding the partitioning
of carbohydrates to above
and below ground organs
(via the measuring biomass
of roots, shoots, leaves and
bunches). Additionally, potted vine experiments were
carried out investigating
bunch microclimate, using
controlled environment
facilities at Lincoln University. The collected grape

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

bunches (fruit) will be analysed for primary metabolites and quality (secondary)
compounds.

CONCLUSIONS

In their undertaking, our
research aims to increase
the current knowledge of
Pinot Noir physiology and
biochemistry, with the
end goal of maintaining
or enhancing berry quality
being at the forefront of our
research considerations.
There are clearly intricate
communication and regula-

tory mechanisms between
the sink and source organs
in grapevines. Learning
more about the integral control processes will aid our
understanding of the plant
responses to vineyard management and environmental
parameters. Ultimately, it is
more desirable to recognise
and operate with the vines
and their metabolic processes, in order to establish
if we can modify responses
and modulate the yield quality seesaw.
nzwine.com

Research Progress Reports

Pinot Noir grape and wine phenolic
profiling
Leandro Dias Araujo and Paul Andrew Kilmartin
School of Chemical Sciences, University of Auckland
RA 3.2
THE GROUP of chemical
compounds named phenolics play an important role
in determining the colour
and mouth-feel of red wines.
These compounds have an
important role in the sensory
properties of wines, directly
affecting wine colour density
and hue, texture, astringency,
bitterness, and modifying the
aroma perception. They are
extracted from grapes tissues during winemaking and
form a very complex group
with many different forms
and attributes
Grape phenolics
include the major classes
of molecules ultimately
responsible for wine colour
(anthocyanins) and astringency (tannins), along with
indirect effects on aroma
and taste through oxidation processes. There are
reasonably good links and
correlations between the
quantities of phenolics present in grapes and the levels
in the final wines. Pinot Noir
is a variety with a somewhat
simpler phenolic spectrum
compared to many other red
varieties and is known to
feature high levels of certain
seed derived phenolics,
e.g. catechin monomers,
and lower levels of total
anthocyanins leading to less
intensely coloured wines.
Various methods have
been used over the years
for the characterization
of phenolic compounds in
various plants. These range
from simpler spectrophotometric methods to more
complex and demanding

Figure 1 Correlation between Colour density and recommended retail price (in NZD) showing that more
affordable wines can have a colour as dense as premium wines.

techniques such as Nuclear
Magnetic Resonance
(NMR). Reversed-phase
high-performance liquid
chromatography (HPLC),
usually in tandem with a
diode array detector or a
mass spectrometer, has
been used extensively in
the research of grape and
wine phenolics. The various
methods published focus
on the assessment of the
monomeric fraction of
phenolics, as the polymeric
tannins (compounds formed
by the union of multiple
similar phenolics) are difficult to analyse using this
technique.
As useful as the HPLC
approach is to look at the
content of and changes in
phenolics in grapes and
wines, it is recognised that

less than 50% of the phenolics present are of a monomeric (single compound)
or dimeric size (two similar
compounds combined into
one molecule), particularly
the phenolics responsible
for astringency. Further
chromatographic procedures, including phloroglucinolysis (acid catalysis of
tannins in the presence of
excessive phloroglucinol)
and Gel Permeation Chromatography (GPC), have
been developed overseas for
the characterization of the
polymeric tannins providing
information on polymer size
distribution and composition.
Spectrophotometric (UVVis) methods are generally
much cheaper than the
more advanced techniques

and are easily implemented
within a winery laboratory.
However, they are very
limited in comparison to
the level of characterization
obtained using rapid scanning instruments such as
FTIR spectroscopy, or newer
NMR systems capable
of quantifying dozens of
parameters, applicable to
the grape variety involved
and wine origin.
All the data generated
by the combination of
these methods can provide
a much more complete
characterization of grape
and wine phenolics, aiding
the understanding of factors involved in wine quality
development.
The objective of our
work is to implement in
our laboratory a number of

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019 // 127

Research Progress Reports

these methods, enabling
the full characterization of
grape and wine phenolic
compounds. With these in
place, we will contribute
to the other research aims
within the Pinot noir programme by offering a set
of tools that will permit the
understanding of the effect
of factors in study on the
wine phenolics and, consequently, on the sensory
profile of wines.

HIGH-PERFORMANCE
LIQUID
CHROMATOGRAPHY
(HPLC)

HPLC is a widely used
method for the quantification of a number of monomeric phenolic compounds
in grapes and wine. For
instance, we have applied
this method, along with
colour analyses by spectrophotometry, to characterize
18 New Zealand Pinot Noir
wines of a large range of
retail prices. We can then
make various contrasts:
retail price versus wine colour density (Figure 1); colour
density versus anthocyanin
content; and anthocyanin
content versus the percentage of non-bleachable pigments, to name a few.

GEL PERMEATION
CHROMATOGRAPHY AND
PHLOROGLUCINOLYSIS

Gel permeation chromatography (GPC), is a
separations technique that
is based on size exclusion.
Larger molecules tend to
not enter the porous surface
of the column packaging
being excluded and leaving
the column more quickly
than smaller molecules that
will go through every pore
of the column material.
This separation enables the
analyst to have a molecular
mass distribution (Figure 2)
of the tannins in the wine.

However, this technique
does not give any information on the unitary composition of the tannins.
For this purpose, a
method called phloroglucinolysis is commonly used.
Phloroglucinolysis involves
breaking the tannin chains
into their monomeric units,
binding a stabilizing agent
to the newly formed compounds (in this case, phloroglucinol is used, hence the
method name), and analyzing each individual unit
content. This method gives
information on the mean
degree of polymerization,
but also about the composition of the tannin, including
the proportion of epigallocatechin units (skin origin)
and epicatechin gallate units
(seed origin).

FUTURE WORK

Other methods will be
added to the current portfo-

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

lio to have a complete set
of analytical tools able
to give answers to most
needs for phenolic analysis within the wider Pinot
noir programme. New
challenges can always
appear for which new
methods have to be created or adapted, requiring new approaches
and collaborations with
expert researchers.
We will be working closely with other
groups inside the Pinot
noir programme, in
particular with the sensory
panel studies focusing
on in-mouth properties of
Pinot noir wines.
This is an important
phase of the programme
to determine which methods are most relevant to
characterize the in-mouth
sensory attributes of
wines.
nzwine.com

Research Progress Reports

Microoxygenation: Understanding the
influence of oxygen on the polyphenolic
composition of Pinot Noir wine and its
impact on wine colour and mouthfeel
Billy Yang
PhD student at the
University of Auckland
under the supervision of
Prof. Paul Kilmartin
RA 3.5
THE TECHNIQUE of Microoxygenation (MOX) was
developed in France at the
beginning of the 1990s
as an alternative and/or
complementary method
to barrel aging. Since then
it has been applied to red
wines all over the world. MOX
requires a monitored oxygen
micro-supply to diffuse a
certain amount of oxygen
into wine that is often held
in stainless steel tanks. The
most important contribution of this technique is the
acceleration of oxidation and
aging processes in wine. In
the literature, MOX, when
applied at the desired rates,
has been shown to promote
polymerisation reactions of
polyphenolic compounds
in wine (such as anthocyanins and tannins), allowing
more stable pigments to be
formed. These changes to
the anthocyanins present in
wines provided more colour
than the original pigments.
It is generally accepted
that the temperature of wine
undergoing MOX should
be controlled at around
14-17oC. This is because,
a temperature lower than
14oC may result in slow
chemical reactions and an
accumulation of oxygen,
whereas, temperature

Table 1. Analytical data obtained from HPLC for monomeric phenolics, in mg/L, for three replicates of a
Pinot Noir wine post alcoholic fermentation.
1
Average for 59 NZ Pinot noir wines from the 2006 vintage
2
Range of 115 Pinot noir wines from 2003-2006, including French, Australian and NZ Wines.

CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS

MEAN

STD DEV

AVERAGE NZ
PN1

RANGE2
(115 WINES)

41.2

0.06

65 ± 21

11 to 15

214.7

3.6

174 ± 63

12 5o 353

Vanillic acid

7.5

0.39

Syringic acid

7.8

0.06

9±2

1 to 16

Epicatechin

80.8

3.0

95 ± 32

8 to 184

T-caftaric acid

16.4

0.1

5±4

1 to 49

Z-coutaric acid

2.5

0.03

1.2 ± 0.8

0.2 to 3.4

E-coutaric acid

2.7

0.03

3.8 ± 3.1

0.8 to 19

Caffeic acid

1.1

0.04

15 ± 10

1 to 36

Ferulic acid

0.9

0.04

16.4

0.9

1 to 23

7.1

0.1

0 to 37

200.2

9.5

Gallic acid
Catechin

Quercetin-3-O-glucronide
Quercetin
malvidin-3-glucoside

higher than 17oC may lead
to poor oxygen solubility,
limiting oxidation reactions in wine. MOX may be
applied at any stage during
winemaking, although the
dosage rate and duration
may vary depending on the
stage of winemaking, the
type of wine, and the desired
outcomes. Studies have
shown that applying MOX
early to wine was much
more effective in enhancing wine colour and the
formation of more stable
pigments.
Therefore, in theory, the
application of MOX could

75 ± 32

be beneficial for Pinot Noir
wines that are naturally
light in colour. This trait of
Pinot Noir has been well
studied, and is related to
the low skin to seed tannin
ratio and the low pigment
content in Pinot Noir grapes,
as well as other factors,
together resulting in the low
anthocyanin concentration
in the finished wine. However, on the other hand, the
lack of phenolics in Pinot
Noir wines makes it prune
to over-oxidation, which
could result in wine browning and the development
of unpleasant aromas. To

2 to 167

date, as the most widely
planted red grape variety
in New Zealand, Pinot Noir
wine has a very important
place in the New Zealand
wine market, and brings
significant economic returns
to the New Zealand Wine
Industry. Thus, understanding the drivers behind
Pinot Noir wine quality is of
importance for New Zealand
winegrowers, and microoxygenation may offer an
opportunity to develop that
understanding.
In order to have a further
understanding of the
impact of MOX on wine

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019 // 129

Research Progress Reports

phenolic profile, and at the
same time, to determine
the desired rates of MOX
for improving the sensory
characteristics of Pinot noir
wines, a MOX trial using a
Marlborough Pinot noir wine
from the 2019 vintage is
being established. Different
oxygenation rates and the
impact of MOX both preand post-malolactic fermentation will be examined in
the first MOX trial.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF
ANALYTICAL METHODS

In order to quantity the
changes of phenolic compounds responding to MOX,
accurate and reliable analytical tools and procedures
are required. At the University of Auckland, we have
successfully established
several analytical methods
that are being used to analyse wines from within the
wider Pinot noir programme.
Some of these methods
have been in operation at
Auckland for red wines studies undertake over the past
20 years, including a High
Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) method
for quantifying monomeric
polyphenols.
Further spectral assays
are employed for wine
colour, and for tannins
using the methyl cellulose
precipitation assay, first
developed in Australia;
all students leaving the
University of Auckland
postgraduate Wine Science
programme receive training
in these methods. In addition, a series of advanced
HPLC procedures have
been established locally for
the first time, including a
method to separate out tannins directly by size, and a
“phloroglucinolysis” method
that breaks the tannins
down into their phenolic
units to allow detailed profil-

130 //

Table 2. Analytical data obtained from the method of
phloroglucinolysis for two replicates of a young Pinot Noir wine post
alcoholic fermentation.

COMPOUND (MG/L)

MEAN

SD

Epigallocatechin-phloroglucinol

1.46

0.15

Catechin-phloroglucinol

19.3

1.9

Epicatechin-phloroglucinol

133

10

Epicatechin-gallate-phloroglucinol

39.4

1.3

6.7

0.22

Catechin

22.2

1.9

Epicatechin

10.4

0.6

Degree of polymerisation (mDP)

4.442

0.003

Gallo Group (grape skin) % Gallo

0.59%

0.02%

Gallate group (grape seeds)
% Galloyl

2.69%

0.11%

Yield from phloroglucinolysis

46.5%

3.5%

Epicatechin-gallate

ing.
Table 1 summarises
the range of monomeric
phenolic compounds that
are quantified using HPLC,
for a Pinot noir wine post
alcoholic fermentation. The
wine has high concentrations of catechin, epicatechin and the anthocyanin
malvidin-3-glucoside, typical
for Pinot noir wine at the
end of fermentation. Comparisons can be made with
ranges of values determined
in previous surveys of commercial Pinot noir bottled
wines wines of various ages
(Table 1). Changes in the
levels of these compounds
will be monitored in the
coming MOX trial using this
2019 Marlborough Pinot
noir wine.
Furthermore, in order to
verify the changes of polymeric phenolic contents during MOX, we have adapted
the phloroglucinolysis
method that measures the
compositional units of the
polymeric tannins. As seen
in Table 2, the percentage
yield of phloroglucinolysis,
at close to 50%, has shown
good recoveries, similar to
what has been reported

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

in overseas studies. The
degree of polymerisation
(mDP) represents the average number of constitutive
flavanol units, which can
vary significantly between
skin and seed tannins. As
previously reported, skin
tannins consist on average
of 3 to 83 (mDP), whereas
seed tannins are much
smaller and have a higher
proportion of galloylated
units and an average mDP
from 2 to 16. In table 2, it
can be seen that, the average mDP of the tested Pinot
noir wine was about 4.4,
which is consistent with
a low skin to seed tannin
ratio, typical of the Pinot
noir grape. In addition, the
percentage of gallo group,
0.59% (mainly from the
grape skin) and the percentage of gallate group, 2.69%
(mostly from the grape
seeds), also reflect the specific phenolic properties of
the Pinot noir grape.
These compounds play
a key role in the sensory
characteristics of the wine.
For instance, the galloyl
ring in epicatechin-gallate
and tannins containing this
molecule can bind strongly

to the proline ring of the salivary proline-rich proteins via
hydrophobic interactions,
thus resulting in precipitation, which may be perceived as wine astringency.
Also, it was previously found
that astringency increases
with an increasing percentage of galloylation due to
the ability of such groups to
complex with proteins and
peptides. On the other hand,
it has been reported that the
association between mDP
and astringency could be
restrained by the presence
of epigallocatechin (found
the gallo group), so that
wine with higher epigallocatechin might provide a softer
taste. It will be very interesting to see the changes of
these chemical compounds
during MOX, which might
affect the taste of the wine.

CONCLUSION AND
DEVELOPMENT OF
FUTURE EXPERIMENTS

Wine oxygenation could
be a useful tool for improving wine phenolic composition. The changes in the
phenolic profile could then
affect both the colour and
the taste of wine. We will
continue to explore this in
the future, combing with the
use of MOX treatments at
controlled rates, to determine the most effective
microoxygenation rates
and the most influential
MOX timing for Pinot Noir
wine, which hopefully could
be used to improve Pinot
noir wine quality. Newly
developed methods such
as phloroglucinolysis will be
applied to Pinot Noir wines
coming from wider sensory
and viticultural trials from
within the Pinot Noir programme to provide a greater
understanding of the drivers
of Pinot Noir colour and
mouthfeel properties.
nzwine.com

SEE US AT
ROMEO BRAGATO
CONFERENCE!
COLLARD® DISTRIBUTOR
FOR NEW ZEALAND
& AUSTRALIA